-XI  B  RARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 

B 

MUZ3& 


ILLINOIS  HISTORICAL 


GO  YEARS 


ON    THE 


UPPER   MISSISSIPPI 


I4fe  and  Experiences, 


S.  W.  McMASTER, 


BOCK  ISLAND,  -  -        ILLINOIS. 


1893. 


INDEX. 


My  Life  and  Emigration  to  Galena,         -  i 

Early  Impressions  of  the  Lead  Mines  and  Sketches     -  13 

Two  Years  in  St.  Louis  from  1834  to  1836,  24 

John  W.  Spencer's  Sketches  of  Early  Days  in  Rock  Island  30 

Sketches  of  some  Early  Settlers  near  Rock  Island,      -  48 

Rock  Island  from  1836  to  1841,       -  58 

Completion  of  the  C.  &  R.  I.  R.  R.  to  Rock  Island     -  97 

The  Financial  Panic  of  1857,                             ...  IOI 

The  Removal  from  Rock  Island  to  Galena  in  1841,     -  104 

Sketches  of  some  Leading  Galena  Men  in  Early  Days,  108 

Mormonism  in  Illinois,    ------  ug 

Early  Settlement  of  Towns  along  the  River,  -  -  131 

Noted  Galena  Men  from  1840  to  1850,  -  -  -  139 

E.  B.  Washburn  and  C.  S.  Hempstead,  -  -  141 

Adventure  with  Indians  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  148 

Sketches  of  Prominent  Men  of  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  155 

Galena  and  Vicinity  from  1850  to  1860,  ...  j68 

Steamboating  on  the  Upper  Missisippi,  185 

Breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion.  Incidents  in  Galena,  192 

Noted  Leading  Men  of  Galena, 202 

Galena  in  1856,  205 

My  Sojourn  in  St.  Louis  building  Grain  Elevators,  -  207 

The  Return  from  Galena  to  Rock  Island  in  1866,  -  215 

Steamers  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  up  to  1874,  -  -  241 

Harvest  Hands  Take  Possession  of  a  Steamboat,  -  243 

The  R.  I.  &  St.  P.  R.  R.  It's  Origin  and  Progress,  245 
The  Theological  Department  to  Educate  Young  Men 

for  the  Ministry, 252 

A  Short  Notice  of  Early  Settlers  in  Rock  Island  County,  263 

The  Old  Canal  and  the  Hennepin,  268 

My  Old  Galena  Home  for  a  Quarter  of  a  Century,  -  273 

Geology  of  Rock  Island  County,  277 

The  Death  of  the  Great  Hungarian  Patriot,  280 

Moral  Extracts  from  Various  Authors,  285 

Newspapers  of  Rock  Island,  -  287 
Early  Days  in  Southern  Wisconsin.  Sketches  of  some 

of  the  Early  Pioneers,          -  290 


THE  PRINTER'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Probably  no  man  living  is  better  qualified  by 
experience  and  observation  to  write  upon  the 
early  times  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  than  S.  W. 
McMaster,  the  author  of  this  book.  While  the 
work  is  titled  "Sixty  Years  on  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi," the  author  has  lived  in  this  vicinity  for 
more  than  sixty-two  years,  and  now,  at  the  age  of 
84  years,  and  in  the  possession  of  all  his  faculties, 
is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  a  well  spent  life  at  his 
pleasant  home  in  Rock  Island,  Illinois.  Engaged 
quite  extensively  in  business  in  Galena  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  living  also  at  different  per- 
iods in  St.  Louis  arid  Rock  Island,  and  being  a 
close  observer  of  men  and  events,  he  enjoyed  rare 
opportunities  to  become  familiar  withthe  leading 
events  of  the  times,  and  his  active  mind  allowed 
none  of  these  opportunities  to  pass  unemployed. 
While  in  business  in  Galena,  he  traded  quite  ex- 
tensivelv  with  merchants  in  St.  Paul  and  at  other 


points  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  made  many 
extended  tours  through  Wisconsin,  Minnesota 
and  the  states  bordering  on  the  river. 

He  enjoyed  a  personal  acquaintance  with  nearly 
all  the  river  captains,  leading  business  men, 
statesmen  and  politicians,  from  St.  Louis  to  St. 
Paul.  A  concise  history  of  these  eventful  years 
on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  he  entertainingly  nar- 
rates in  this  volume. 

J.  B.  BROWN. 
Galena,  111,  Nov.  30, 1895. 


My  Early  Life  and  Emigration  to  Galena 

I  was  born  near  Watertown,  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  on  Oct.  the  8th,  1811.  My  father 
moved  from  there  to  Herkima  county  about  25 
miles  north  from  Little  Falls,  on  the  Mohawk 
river,  in  1817,  living  some  two  years  on  my 
grandfather's  farm  which  abutted  on  the  west  on 
the  Trenton  Falls  a  celebrated  place  of  resort,  a 
few  years  later,  noted  for  its  wild  beautiful  scen- 
ery and  for  a  succession  of  falls  some  three  of 
them,  20,  40  and  70  feet,  cut  through  the  solid 
Trenton  lime  stone,  a  narrow  gorge  two  miles  in 
length.  It  was  first  brought  into  notice  by  W. 
R.  Sherman,  who  erected  in  1822  a  large  com- 
modious hotel  in  the  deep  shady  pine  grove.  In 
1819  my  father  settled  on  what  was  called  the 
Elm  Flats  in  the  town  of  Russia,  Herkimacounty, 
the  county  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
Adirondacs. 

My  earliest  recollections  center  around  a  log 
house  built  of  hewn  spruce  logs  taken  from  a  dense 
forest  of  spruce  and  fur  trees,  lying  on  the  west 
side  of  the  house,  a  heavy  forest  of  Elm,  Sugar 
Maple  and  Beech  trees  covering  the  whole  farm  of 
120  acres;  a  small  garden  spot  hewn -out  from 
the  timber;  a  spring  bubbling  up  through  the 
pure  white  sand  at  the  foot  of  a  huge  elm  tree 
running  away  a  short  distance  and  forming  a 
little  lakelet  full  of  speckled  trout.  I  did  not 


commence  going  to  school  until  I  was  nearly 
eight  years  old.  My  father  who  was  an  educated 
man,  teaching  me  at  home  whenever  he  could  find 
time  to  spare  from  his  ordinary  labors  in  hewing 
out  a  farm  from  the  heavy  woods. 

Whatever  education  I  received  outside  of  the  in- 
struction I  received  from  my  father,  I  acquired 
at  the  little  log  school  house  under  the  hill,  two 
miles  from  my  home.  After  I  was  12  years  old 
I  stayed  at  home  in  the  summer  and  fall  helping 
my  father  on  the  farm,  attending  school  only 
three  months  in  the  winter,  and  such  winters  as 
we  then  had — the  snow  usually  three  to  four  feet 
deep  often  covering  the  fences  all  out  of  sight. 
The  school  house  was  made  out  of  rough  logs,  the 
spaces  between  being  stopped  with  mortar  made 
from  clay.  The  seats  were  made  from  pine  slabs, 
the  rounded  side  down,  supported  with  stout  oak 
pins.  The  writing  desk  was  a  rough  long  one, 
occupying  the  whole  rear  of  the  house. 

The  wood  for  fuel  was  furnished  by  the  par- 
ents of  the  pupils;  was  usually  green  and  burned 
in  a  wide  open  fire  place.  The  children  near 
the  front  when  the  fire  was  fairly  started  roasting, 
and  those  in  the  rear  nearly  freezing,  seats  had 
to  be  exchanged  often.  Spelling,  reading,  writ- 
ing, grammar  and  arithmetic  were  taught,  with 
these  surroundings  and  appliances  and  under  all 
these  difHcultes  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  fair 
knowledge  of  the  branches  taught. 


When  I  was  in  my  nineteenth  yearthe  trustees 
of  my  home  district  called  on  me  to  take  the 
place  of  a  teacher  who  they  had  to  discharge.  It 
was  a  rather  difficult  position  to  fill,  but  I  suc- 
ceeded fairly  well  considering  my  pupils 
many  of  whom  were  older  then  myself  and  had 
been  my  schoolmates  of  the  winter  before.  My 
compensation  for  the  three  months  teaching  was 
twenty  dollars  per  month,  and  I  boarded  at 
home. 

I  taught  two  winters  more  in  my  immediate 
neighborhood,  getting  a  somewhat  better  compen- 
sation as  I  boarded  round  with  some  of  the  best 
families,  who  did  not  mind  if  I  overstaid  iny 
time  a  week  or  so.  I  boarded  two  weeks  or  more 
with  William  Ferris,  the  grandfather  of  George 
W.  Ferris  of  the  famous  Ferris  wheel  the  admir- 
ation of  all  who  visited  the  world's  fair.  His 
father  and  his  father's  sister  wore  both  pupils  of 
mine.  His  father  lives  in -Idaho.  A  few  years 
ago  I  gave  one  of  our  bright  teachers  an  open  let- 
ter of  introduction,  she  had  been  written  to  about 
a  situation  out  there.  She  found  my  pupil  of 
olden  time  to  be  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  school 
she  expected  to  take.  She  was  well  received  and 
in  a  year  or  two  married  a  very  worthy, gentle- 
men. They  are  now  both  living  at  Tacornah, 
Washington.  Her  husband  is  a  prosperous  mer- 
chant. The  grandfather  Wm.  Ferris,  Professor 
Gale  and  a  Dr.  Coons  and  some  others  came  out 


to  Galesburg  and  founded  that  town  and  the  col- 
lege in  1839.  I  met  Mr.  Ferris  a  number  of  times 
in  early  days  at  Rock  Island  and  also  at  Galena, 
entering  land  there.  Mr.  Burchard,  who  in  after 
years  at  the  political  gathering  in  New  York  dur- 
ing the  contest  between  Jas.  G.  BlaineandGrover 
Cleveland  used  those  fateful  words  in  a  speech 
that  he  made  at  that  meeting,  "Rum,  Romanism 
and  Rebellion,"  which  no  doubt  decided  the  elec- 
tion in  favor  of  Cleveland,  by  changing  thousands 
of  Irish  Catholic  votes  in  New  York.  This  man 
who  was  then  18  years  of  age,  taught  school  in  an 
adjoining  district.  We  often  visited  each  other, 
and  met  when  our  schools  came  together  for 
spelling  contests.  He  was  a  genial  bright  young 
man,  very  religious,  often  holding  prayer  meet- 
ings with  his  pupils  after  school  hours.  The 
grandfather  of  Guiteau  the  assassin  of  lamented 
Garfield,  lived  only  a  few  miles  west  of  me  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Oneida.  He  was  somewhat 
celebrated  as  a  physician. 

In  the  winter  of  1832-33  while  boarding  at  the 
house  of  Daniel  Philleo,  I  met  Dr.  Addeson 
Philleo,  who  had  been  residing  in  Galena  for  some 
years  and  established  the  first  newspaper  at  that 
place.  He  gave  us  such  a  glowing  description  of 
this  far  away  Western  country,  and  particularly 
of  the  lead  mine  district,  that  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  start  for  that  New  Eldorado  of  the  West  in  the 
spring.  My  very  good  friend  Dr.  Bowen  was  al- 


ways  urging  to  "go  west  young  man."  The  doc- 
tor a  few  years  latter  settled  first  at  Jolliette  and 
afterwards  at  Marsalles,  in  Illinois. 

After  I  closed  my  school  I  made  all  my  ar- 
rangements to  start  the  first  of  May.  I  had  a  good 
strong  suit  of  home-made  clothes,  the  wool  made 
from  fleeces  of  sheep  raised  on  the  farm.  The 
cloth  spun  and  wove  by  my  good  mother.  My 
small  outfit  was  packed  in  a  wooden  trunk,  which 
I  have  yet,  and  after  settling  up  everything,  I 
had  thirty-five  dollars  left  for  my  journey  to  the 
Western  worlds.  My  wanderings  before  this  had 
never  extended  farther  than  Utica,  fifteen  miles 
away.  I  took  cabin  passage  on  a  canal  boat  at 
Herkimer  on  the  Mohawk  river  for  Buffalo  and 
thence  across  the  lake  to  Cleveland,  Ohio;  an- 
other canal  ride  from  Cleveland  to  Portsmouth 
on  the  Ohio  river.  I  took  passage  on  an  Ohio 
river  steam  boat  bound  for  St.  Louis.  One 
night  I  was  awakened,  hearing  a  wild  strange 
sort  of  music  made  by  the  negro  firemen; 
being  the  first  I  ever  heard,  it  made  a  strong  im- 
pression on  me. 

From  St.  Louis  I  took  passage  to  Quincy,  the 
termination  of  the  boat's  trip.  Here,  running  out 
of  funds  I  stopped  for  two  weeks,  and  was  employ- 
ed by  the  landlord  of  the  only  hotel  in  the  place. 
It  faced  the  large  public  square  around  which 
was  gathered  the  most  of  the  population  of  the 
place,  the  houses  all  facing  the  square  then  as 


8 

now.  From  here  I  took  passage  on  the  steamer 
Warrior,  Win.  Thockmorton  commander,  for  Ga- 
lena. He  was  perhaps  the  most  noted  Capt.  on 
the  upper  river,  commanding  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent boats  for  over  forty  years.  His  last  service 
was  on  the  U.  S.  steamer  in  1873,  he  died  soon 
after  this  date. 

I  a  rived  at  Galena  towards  the  last  of  June. 
I  had  letters  of  introduction  from  my  friend  Dr. 
Bowen  to  his  brother,  Luther  H.  Bowen,  arid  Dr. 
Philleo.  Luther  H.  Bowen  was  employed  as  a 
bookkeeper  in  the  largest  mercantile  store  in  the 
little  city.  They  were  doing  a  large  and  exten- 
sive business  and  employed  some  four  or  five 
clerks.  He  obtained  for  me  temporary  employ- 
ment with  the  firm  of  Little  &  Warm.  They 
came  to  Galena  in  1828,  from  Baltimore,  Md. 
Their  store  occupied  the  present  site  of  the  bank 
of  Galena  founded  by  the  Corwith  brothers, 
Henry  and  Nathan.  They  both  moved  to  Chi- 
cago many  years  ago  taking  a  leading  part  in  the 
commercial  and  financial  affairs  of  that  city. 
They  were  both  warm  friends  of  mine  during  all 
my  long  sojourn  in  Galenaand  have  gone  to  a  bet- 
ter and  brighter  state  of  existance.  The  first-night 
after  my  arrival  at  Galena  I  lodged  with  my  friend 
Bowen  in  the  upper  story  of  the  store,  which 
opened  out  on  Bench  street,  some  20  ft.  or  more 
above  Main  street,  Opposite  on  Bench  street  was 
the  land  office.  All  through  the  night  I  heard 


the  chink  of  coin  in  a  room  adjoining  the  office. 
Gambling  was  carried  on  there  almost  every 
night,  the  officers  of  the  office  participating  in 
the  game.  The  receiver  usually  taking  a  hand 
in  the  game.  The  result  was  a  heavy  defalcation 
at  the  end  of  his  term  of  office.  I  was  employed 
&  few  weeks  by  Little  &  Wann,  when  I  was  en- 
gaged as  a  clerk  in  the  house  of  Campbell  and 
Morehouse,  a  new  firm  just  starting  in  the  dry 
goods  trade.  Ge6.  W.  Campbell  of  this  firm  was  a 
good  friend  of  mine,  who  moved  to  Chicago  many 
years  ago  and  died  their  in  1882.  D.  B. 
Morehouse  in  after  years  had  command  of  a  num- 
ber of  steam  boats  engaged  in  the  trade  of  the 
upper  Mississippi. 

Everything  was  new  and  strange  to  me.  The 
picturesque  hills,  the  many  small  stores  scattered 
along  the  muddy  Main  street— the  many  dwellings 
perched  along  the  base  of  the  steep  bluffs  that 
hemmed  in  the  little  busy  town— the  little  sluggish 
winding  river — the  many  mounds  rearing  their 
rugged  summits  some  150. feet  above  the  general 
level  of  the  country.  The  long  string  of  heavily 
laden  ox  teams  winding  their  way  down  Frank- 
lin and  Main  streets  loaded  with  piglead,  deposit- 
ed on  the  steep  narrow  levee,  sent  in  from  various 
furnaces  of  the  country.  The  loud  cracking  (like 
pistol  shots)  of  the  teamster's  long  whips  over  I  he 
bac-ks  of  their  team  of  5  to  7  yoke  of  oxen,  as  they 
slowly  made  their  vvav  down  Franklin  street. 


8 

All  these  new  strange    scenes    impressed  me,    a 
tender-foot  strangely. 

I  found  all  the  people  with  whom  I  came  in 
contact,  very  nice  and  hospitable,  ready  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  a  stranger. 

Among  the  many  friends  and  associates  of  that 
early  day  I  would  mention  George  and  B.  H. 
Campbell,  L.  H.  Bo  wen,  Wm.  A.  Joruon,  John 
Dean,  Fred  Stahl,  R.  W.  Brush,  Augustus  Scott, 
a  brother  of  Mrs.  B.  H.  Campbell,  Charles  and 
Edward  Gratiot.  Charles  and  William  Hemp- 
stead  and  John  A.  Clark,  a  government  surveyor, 
who  many  years  after,  under  Gen.  Grant's  ad- 
ministration was  appointed  surveyor  Gen  .of  Utah, 
and  last  but  not  least  my  old  time  friend,Gen.  G.  W. 
Jones,  who  at  this  time  lived  at  Sinsinawa  Mound 
engaged  in  mining.  I  often  went  out  to  his 
hospitable  and  pleasant  home  to  see  his  neices, 
Mary  and  Eliza  Brady.  Mary  married  Dr. 
Wyeth,  and  Eliza,  G.  W.  Campbell  a  few  years 
after.  Gen.  Jones  is  the  only  one  of  all  the 
many  whom  I  knew  in  those  early  days,  who  still 
survives.  He  is  living  in  Dubuque,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  89  years,  still  genial  and  affable  as 


The  only  church  we  had  at  that  time  was  a 
hewn  log  structure  standing  a  little  west  of  the 
present  site  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church, 
Father  Kent  officiated  as  minister.  One  day  a 
number  of  us  young  men  just  before  church  time 


9 

were  sitting  in  a  row  on  a  long  bench  in  the 
church,  with  friend  Fred  Stahl  at  the  head,  when 
he  casting  his  eye  down  the  row  remarked,  "where 
can  you  find  a  finer  looking  set  of  young  men. 
Among  them  wereSam'l  T.  Cluft',  W.  A.  Jordon, 
B.  H.  Campbell,  Joseph  Dean,  I.  P.  Farley, 
Augustus  Scott  and  myself,  and  some  others  whose 
names  I  do  not  recollect. 

Wra.  8.  Hamilton  a  son  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, secretary  ol  the  treasury  under  Washington, 
who  lived  at  what  was  then  called  Hamilton 
diggings  in  Wisconsin,  about  25  miles  northeast 
from  Galena,  frequently  came  into  town  and 
usually  would  find  lodging  in  a  room  over  Little 
<fe  Wann's  store.  He  usually  came  to  town  in  a 
suit  of  buckskin,  and  whenever  he  wanted  to  visit 
the  ladies  he  would  forage  in  the  wardrobe  of  the 
clerks  in  the  store  for  whatever  he  wanted.  One 
night  he  came  in  rather  late  and  found  George 
Mitchell,  a  new  clerk,  a  gentlemanly  young  irish- 
man in  the  bed  that  he  usually  occupied.  George 
rather  resented  the  intrusion,  and  said,  who  are 
you  sir?  Hamilton  answered,  I  am  Col.  William 
8.  Hamilton,  a  son  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and 
now  who  the  h 1  are  you  ?  I  am  George  Mit- 
chell, of  Baltimore,  and  I  think  you  are  making 
yourself  d — d  familiar  for  a  stranger.  They 
passed  the  night  peaceably  and  were  fast  friends 
ever  after.  Sometime  in  18341  went  out  to  tho 
Col. 's  place  of  abode  on  business  for  my  employ- 


10 

ers.  Some  fifteen  miles  was  over  a  broad  rolling 
beautiful  prairie,  without  any  settlement,  and  we 
had  only  a  dim  track  most  of  the  way.  I  saw  on 
my  way  a  number  of  deer  bounding  away  over 
the  prairie.  This  was  the  first  large  prairie  that 
I  had  seen,  being  in  June  it  was  covered  with 
masses  of  bright  flowers,  I  enjoyed  the  ride  inten- 
sley. 

I  arrived  at  the  Col.'s  house  near  night  and 
took  lodging  with  him  on  a  bunk  in  his  bachelor 
quarters.  In  the  morning  I  rose  early  and  went 
out  a  short  distance  into  the  heavy  woods  to  a 
large  spring.  I  found  at  the  spring  two  beautiful 
young  ladies  performing  their  morning  ablutions. 
I  was  astonished  at  this  unexpected  vision  of 
beauty  in  the  Wisconsin  wilds,  taken  abaek  and 
felt  like  beating  a  retreat.  Upon  inquiring  of  them 
who  they  were,  they  told  me  they  were  the  neices 
of  William  Strawbridge,  and  that  their  home  was 
in  Springfield,  111.,  and  they  were  visiting  at  the 
home  of  Joseph  Baily,  who  lived  near  by. 

William  Strawbridge  was  a  well-to-do  miner 
and  smelter,  a  relation  of  my  wife.  He  after  this 
married  the  widow  of  George  Eames  the  brother 
of  my  wife's  mother,  Mrs.  W.  Brooks.  George 
Eames  was  killed  in  the  Black  Hawk  War  while 
helping  to  defend  the  Block  house  near  Elizabeth, 
.1.")  miles  east  of  Galena. 

William  Strawbridge  took  the  gold  fever  and 
with  hundreds  of  other  Galenaians  went  to  Call- 


11 

fornia  in  1850,  and  died  on  his  way  home  in  1853. 

Col.  Hamilton  becoming  somewhat  embarrass- 
ed in  his  mining  operations  also  went  to  Califor- 
nia, and  died  there  in  about  1856.  His  aged 
mother  visited  him  at  Galena  sometime  in  the 
40s,  and  I  then  saw  her.  One  more  reminsicence 
about  the  genial  Colonel.  He  was  a  volunteer  in 
the  Black  Hawk  War,  and  was  in  command  of 
a  regiment.  Some  disagreement  arose  between 
him  and  Maj.  Henry  Dodge.  (He  was  not  a  gen- 
eral then,)  but  was  called  so  by  Dr.  Philleo,  who 
was  on  his  staff  as  a  correspondent  .for  his  Galena 
paper.  Some  angry  words  were  passed  between 
them,  and  Dodge  handed  a  pistol  to  Hamilton 
and  told  him  to  defend  himself.  Col.  Hamilton 
says  to  him  "my  country  needs  my  services  now, 
but  as  soon  as  the  war  is-  over  I  will  be  at  your 
service."  No  hostile  meeting  ever  took  place  be- 
tween them,  and  they  were  good  friends  ever  after. 

The  reputation  that  Governor  Dodge  acquired 
in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  was  largely  due  to  the  let- 
ters that  Dr.  Philleo  sent  to  his  paper,  the  Galenian. 
This  was  the  only  newspaper  north  of  St.  Louis 
or  east  of  Detroit,  and  these  articles  were  largely 
copied  by  Eastern  papers.  He  was  a  brave  honest 
man,  and  filled  the  office  of  territory  government 
very  creditably.  The  appointment  to  this  office 
was  due  mainly  to  the  influence  of  his  warm 
friend,  G.  W.  Jones,  who  was  territorial  delegate 
under  the  Jackson  administration,  and  when  the 


12 

old  general  requested  him  to  name  asuitableman 
for  the  office,  who  was  a  resident,  he  named  Henry 
Dodge.  Governor  Dodge  was  at  sometime  after 
this  often  spoken  of  as  a  candidate  of  the  Demo- 
crats for  the  presidency.  I  knew  his  son,  Augus- 
tus C,  at  this  time  and  later  as  senator  from  Iowa, 
and  minister  to  Spain.  I  also  knew  and  often 
met  some  of  his  sons-in-law,  John  Dement,  Mires 
F.  Truett  and  Paschal  Bequett,  all  prominent 
men  of  mark  and  influence.  Mires  F. 
Truefct  was  a  leading  merchant  in  Galena  for  a 
number  of  years.  About  1850  he  emigrated  to 
California.  During  the  troublous  times  in  San- 
Francisco,  caused  by  the  thugs  and  outlaws  gath- 
ered there,  he  took  a  leading  part  in  forming  the 
vigilantsand  many  of  these  meetings  were  held 
over  his  store,  and  some  of  the  miscreants  were 
hung  from  a  beam  ran  out  from  the  upper  story. 
He  was  so  prominent  that  Mat  Mahoney,  one  of 
the  gamblers,  who  was  driven  out  of  the  city,  a 
few  years  after  when  Truett  was  in  New  York 
had  him  arrested  and  gave  him  a  good  deal  of 
trouble.  Mat  had  a  good  deal  of  influence  as  he 
belonged  to  the  Tamany  Ring,  who  have  always 
abetted  and  shielded  this  class  of  Harpies,  big  or 
little.  Big  like  Twede,  and  little  like  Mat  Ma- 
honey. 

( This  ends  record  of  my  two  years  at  (Mena  In  1S33 
and  1834,  void.) 


13 
Early  Impressions  of  the  Lead  Mines  and  Sketches. 

Jo  Daviess  county  in  1833  included  a  number 
of  counties  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  state,  and 
Galena  was  the  commercial  center  of  all  thenorth- 
ern  part  of  the  state  at  this  time,  and  for  many 
years  afterwards.  Chicago  was  only  just  coming 
into  notice.  It  was  the  only  place  where  money 
that  is  real  money — gold  and  silver  could  be  ob- 
tained. No  other  currency  would  pass  in  the 
lead  mining  district  for  many  years  after. 

In  the  spring  as  soon  as  the  grass  was  good, 
heavy  ox  teams  hitched  to  what  was  called 
a  prairie  schooner,  heavy  covered  Pennsylvania 
wagons  would  be  seen  wending  their  way  across 
the  broad  prairies  that  were  found  between  San- 
gamon  and  Jo  Daviess  counties,  bound  for  Galena 
the  Eldorado  of  the  northwest.  They  would  usu- 
ally be  loaded  with  flour  and  bacon  for  their  own 
use  during  the  summer  and  a  portion  would  be 
sold  at  Galena.  They  usually  hauled  the  lead 
from  the  furnaces  scattered  over  the  country  by 
the  1,000  fts.,  carrying  often  as  high  as  60,000 
flbs.  Their  large  wagons  was  their  home  while 
here,  the  only  home  they  had,  sleeping  in  them 
at  night,  and  usually  taking  their  meals  camp- 
ing by  some  spring  or  stream  on  their  route.  A 
jolly  jovial  set — generally  very  illiterate,  but  with 
shrewd  common  sense.  Nearly  all  the  interior 
transportation  of  the  mining  district  was  done  by 
these  suckers  from  the  middle  and  southern  part 


14 

of  the  state  for  many  years,  until  the  advent  of 
railroads.  They  took  a  great  deal  of  pride  in 
their  whips,  with  lashes  long  enough  to  reach  the 
farthest  ox  in  the  team.  The  one  that  could 
make  the  loudest  crack  of  any  of  the  crowd  as 
they  came  down  the  long  steep  hills  into  town 
was  the  boss. 

The  population  of  Galena  was  a  motley  one, 
made  up  generally  of  men  mostly  of  energy  and 
intelligence,  who  breaking  away  from  their  far 
distant  homes  came  here  to  better  their  fortune, 
coming  from  nearly  every  state  in  the  union. 
Many  Cornish  men  from  old  England,  with  their 
broad  accent.  Gamblers  and  gambling  saloons, 
ani  low  Irish  doggeries  abounded. 

The  whole  country  was  dotted  with  mineral 
holes  and  was  swarming  with  miners,  hunting 
the  precious  metal.  Some  of  them  toiling  for 
years  and  finding  barely  enough  forasubsistance, 
and  once  in  a  while  one  who  would  blunder  upon 
a  lead  that  was  a  fortune.  It  was  often  said  in 
after  days  that  the  average  daily  wages  of  all  the 
miners  engaged  in  mining  would  not  exceed 
twenty-five  cents  per  day.  The  miner  was  always 
bouyed  up  by  hope,  expecting  from  day  to  day 
to  strike  a  lead.  A  notable  instance  of  a  lead 
struck  a  little  east  of  the  city;  the  father  had 
been  sinking  a  shaft  and  tunneling  four  or  five 
years,  the  mother  and  daughters  had  been  earn- 
ing money  by  sewing  to  support  the  family  in 


15 

the  mean  time.  The  father  became  discouraged 
and  said  he  would  quit.  The  old  lady  says  no 
we  have  enough  money  left  to  buy  one  more  keg 
of  powder.  Try  again.  The  next  week  the  old 
man  struck  big  mineral — enough  to  make  all  the 
family  well  off  for  life.  It  was  known  as  the 
Whitham  Lead,  Mr.  Whitham  was  a  very  worthy 
Englishman,  much  respected.  A  life  long  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church. 

The  men  who  were  the  most  successful  in  min- 
ing operations,  were  persons  who  were  well  post- 
ed in  the  business,  and  had  the  means  to  buy  out 
new  discoveries.  Many  fortunes  were  made  in 
this  way. 

Capt.  Smith  Harris  was  a  very  successful  miner 
all  through  his  long  eventfal  life.  He  usually 
struck  his  own  leads,  and  nearly  every  winter 
when  the  boating  season  was  over,  he  would  pass 
the  winter  in  mining.  Up  to  his  76th  year,  after 
he  had  left  the  river,  when  his  favorite  boat,  the 
Gray  Eagle  was  sunk  at  the  Rock  Island  bridge, 
in  1857,  he  often  would  go  down  to  his  diggings 
below  town  and  put  in  the  time  wielding  the 
pick  drifting  for  mineral.  He  was  one  of  the  best 
and  most  successful  of  our  upper  river  captains, 
and  always  run  fast  boats.  The  West  Newton. 
The  War  Eagle  and  the  Grey  Eagle  were  very 
fast  and  popular  boats.  He  was  a  good  reliable 
man,  performing  his  part  in  life  in  whatever  pos- 
ition he  was  placed.  R.  S.  Harris,  his  brother, 


who  died  some  years  ago  in  Dubuque  was  inter- 
ested with  him  in  most  of  the  boats  as  well  as 
other  boats  not  mentioned.  Capt.  Harris  died 
in  1892  at  the  advanced  age  of  86,  retaining  his 
faculties  to  the  last.  He  was  my  near  neighbor 
for  many  years  and  I  had  a  long  pleasant  inter, 
view  with  him  only  three  or  four  months  before 
his  death. 

Nearly  all  the  traffic  of  the  upper  river  center- 
ed at  this  time  and  all  told  did  not  amount  to 
much  compared  with  that  of  later  years.  Most 
of  the  boats  coming  here  were  from  Pittsburgand 
Cincinnati,  bringing  around  nails,  iron,  lumber 
glass  and  groceries  from  St.  Louis,  and  taking  on 
cargeos  of  lead  on  their  return,  mostly  for  St. 
Louis. 

Occasionally  a  boat  would  come  up  the  river 
loaded  with  supplies  for  the  different  government 
military  ports.  Fort  Armstrong  at  Rock  Island, 
Fort  Crawford  at  Prairie  DuChien,  and  Fort 
Snelling  at  the  junction  of  the  Minnesota  and 
Mississippi  rivers.  A  strong  force  was  usually 
kept  at  these  forts,  usually  at  least  a  full  regiment. 
It  was  neccessary  in  order  to  keep  the  Indians 
quiet.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Pottawattomies,  Win- 
nebago,  Kickapoos,  and  Chippeewas  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Mississippi.  The  powerful  Sioux  na- 
tion with  their  various  tribes,  occupied  all  north- 
ern Iowa  and  Minnesota,  a  restless  marauding 
powerful  tribe,  always  warring  on  the  neighbor- 


17 

iiig  tribes,  these  all  needed  constant  watching. 

Boats  did  not  ru:*  with  any  regularity,  usually 
one  or  two  arrivals  each  week.  They  wended 
their  way  up  the  little  crooked  river  six  miles  be- 
fore they  reached  the  lead  city  of  the  hills.  A 
deep  clear  stream  with  many  deep  pools  not  at 
all  difficult  to  navigate  in  these  early  days  before 
the  wash  from  the  mineral  holes  and  plowed 
ground  on  the  hills  had  filled  it  up.  In  the 
-early  days  of  Galena,  sometimes  the  river  would 
close  early  before  sufficient  supplies  for  the  winter 
were  laid  in,  and  before  spring,  prices  would  be- 
come very  high.  One  winter,^1831  I  think,  the 
.supply  of  flour  was  very  short,  the  most  of  it  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  old  Frenchman  Bothillier, 
who  lived  on  the  East  Side  of  the  river.  He  had 
been  an  Indian  trader  for  some  years.  He  at 
this  time  had  nearly  all  the  flour  in  the  town  and 
kept  advancing  the  price  from  eight  dollars  to 
ten,  twelve,  sixteen,  and  finally  by  the  middle  of 
January  twenty  dollars  was  his  price,  and  still 
he  had  quite  a  quantity  on  had  and  the  people 
had  to  pay  his  price.  But  providence  or  the  ele- 
ments were  against  the  old  Frenchman.  A  heavy 
thaw  set  in  continuing  some  two  weeks,  opening 
navigation  from  St.  Louis  to  Galena.  One  morn- 
ing early  the  old  Frenchman  peering  down  the 
river  saw  a  steamboat  rounding  the  point  below 
town.  "What,  steamboat  in  the  whit,  who 


18 

the  debil  ever  saw  a  steamboat  in  the  win t  before." 
Flour  was  ten  dollars  per  barrel  after  this,  and 
spring  navigation  kept  .open  only,  occasionally  a 
little  ice  running.  It  proved  a  God  send  to  the 
people,  as  all  the  necessaries  of  life  were  becoming 
scarce  and  dear. 

Sometime  in  1832  during  the  Black  Hawk  War 
a  company  of  volunteers  under  the  command  of 
Col.  Strode  were  encamped  on  the  hill  back  of 
the  town.  The  Col.  got  the  idea  in  his  head  that 
the  Galenians  we  becoming  to  careless  about  dan- 
ger from  the  Indians,  so  he  concluded  he  would 
give  them  a  scare,  and  alongabout  midnight  loud 
firing  of  musketry  and  cannon  were  heard.  The 
cry  was  raised, The  Indians!TheIndiansareupon 
usi  Men,  women  and  children  were  awakened 
from  their  slumbers  and  rushed  in  their  night 
clothes  pell  mell  for  the  Block  house  that  stood 
near  the  intersection  of  Bench  and  Diagonal  St. 
Some  were  seen  praying.  All  rushed  into  the 
small  Block  house  so  that  there  was  hardly  stand- 
ing room  for  them.  They  passed  a  most  miser- 
able night,  as  I  have  been  told  by  those  who 
were  cooped  up  there.  In  the  morning  there  was 
some  tall  swearing  when  it  was  ascertained  that 
it  was  a-false  alarm  and  further  that  there  were 
no  Indians  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Galena. 
No  one  of  the  company  on  the  hill  would  own 
up  as  to  how  the  alarm  started.  The  old  Block 
house  was  standing  as  late  as  1850. 


1J) 

Col.  Strode  and  Col.  Jas.  W.  Stevenson  were 
both  engaged  in  a  battle  or  sea  re  of  what  was  call- 
ed Stillmans  ran,  which  occurred  near  the  north 
of  the  Keshwaukee  a  small  stream  emptying  into 
Rock  river  some  thirty  miles  above  Dixon.  It 
was  a  regular  stampede  on  the  part  of  our  volun- 
teers. The  only  wonder  was  that  so  few  of  our 
troops  were  killed,  (only  16)  as  all  or  nearly  all 
of  Black  Hawk's  forces  were  engaged  in  the  battle. 
Gov.  Ford  in  his  history  of  Ills.,  tells  an  amusing 
story  about  the  battle  as  related  by  a  Kentucky 
Col.  (Col.  Strode  is  the  one  meant.)  About 
serried  ranks  of  Black  Hawk's  forces  sweeping 
down  upon  the  right  and  left  wings  of  our  troops 
and  the  overwhelming  force  of  Indian  Cavalry 
that  by  their  resistless  charge  spread  terror  and 
dismay  in  our  ranks.  The  Col.  was  one  of  the 
first  to  flee  into  the  tall  timber,  in  the  dark  night. 
After  fleeing  some  distance  he  dismounted  and 
hitching  his  horse  to  a  sapling  to  rest  and  recon- 
noiter,  he  thought  he  saw  an  Indian  approaching. 
He  sprang  on  hib  horse's  back  without  unhitch- 
ing and  putting  the  spurs  to  his  horse,  started 
away,  but  the  horse  being  hitched  kept  curling 
round,  every  time  he  came  round  the  Col.  would 
cry  out,  Don't  shoot  Mr.  Indian!  Don't  shoot!  I  sur- 
render. The  Indian  turned  out  to  be  a  tall  black 
stump.  The  story  may  have  been  true.  Al- 
though the  redoubtable  Col.  was  not  defficient  in 
courage  yet  he  was  a  great  boaster,  somewhat  like 


20 

lago  in  Hiawatha.  But  after  all  he  was  a  gen- 
ial man  and  was  generally  liked.  He  was  very 
fond  of  being  referred  to  for  information  about  the 
surrounding  country.  Some  New  England  man 
was  making  inquiries  of  Col.  A.  G.  S.  Wight,  the 
Col.  being  somewhat  of  a  wag,  referred  him  to 
Strode  and  told  him  to  inquire  about  the  Kesh- 
waukee  country.  The  stranger  told  him  that  he 
had  been  referred  to  him  as  one  who  was  well 
posted  about  all  the  surrounding  country.  The 
Col.  said  he  was  thoroughly  posted.  Well, 
could  he  tell  about  the  country  near  Keshwaukee. 
His  reply  was  a  very  vulgar  oneand  will  not  look 
well  in  print.  Tell  the  man  who  referred  you  to 

me  to  go  to  h 1.     The  stranger  was  horrified, 

and  told  the  story  of  his  reception  by  the  Col.  to 
his  friends  much  to  the  amusemustof  Col.  Wight. 
There  were  many  amusing  incidents  as  well  as 
tragic  ones  in  connection  with  this  war. 

When  the  Indians  first  started  out  on  the  war 
path  from  Prophetstown,  forty  miles  above  Rock 
Island,  they  broke  up  into  small  detached  bands 
thus  multiplying  their  apparent  numbers,  spread- 
ing terror  and  alarm  through  the  whole  Rock 
River  valley,  and  through  all  the  country  between 
Rock  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  striking  one  day  on 
some  point  near  Rock  river  and  next  at  some 
point  near  Galena.  When  the  Illinois  volunteers 
had  their  forces  concentrated  and  driven  the  sav- 
ages well  north,  they  were  straining  every  nerve 


21 

to  reach  the  Mississippi  river  north  of  the  Wis- 
consin, to  make  their  escape  into  what  is  now 
Iowa. 

The  whole  effective  force  that  Black  Hawk  ha«l 
any  time,  did  not  exceed  six  hundred,  and  he  was 
hampered  with  the  wives  and  little  ones.  The 
Illinois  volunteers  nu inhered  about  three  thou- 
sand two  hundred,  and  done  nearly  all  the  effec- 
tive fighting  even  after  the  arrival  of  one  thousand 
U.  S.  troops,  before  the  final  capture  and  disper- 
sion of  the  Indians. 

The  volunteers  under  Gen.  Henry  struck  the 
first  fatal  blow  at  Bad  Axe,  while  Gen.  Atkinson 
with  his  troops  was  out  on  a  false  trail  farther 
up  the  river.  Taken  altogether  it  was  a  most  in- 
glories  and  expensive  war.  Our  volunteers  suf- 
ferred  very  severely  towards  the  close  from  the 
want  of  supplies.  Many  of  them  lost  their  lives, 
and  many  families  scattered  over  the  area  of  the 
war  were  decimated. 

But  finally  the  remnant  of  the  Black  Hawk 
forces  were  captured  or  destroyed  at  the  battle  of 
Bad  Axe.  Many  canoes  loaded  with  women  and 
children  were  sunk  and  destroyed  by  the  steamer 
Warrior,  Capt.  Thockmorton,  my  old  time  friend. 
He  at  this  time  always  carried  muskets  and  six 
powder  cannons,  as  he  carried  nearly  all  the  sup- 
plies for  the  Forts  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

Black  Hawk  and  a  few  of  the  principal  chiefs 
were  taken  and  escorted  to  Washington  in  order 


22 

that  they  might  form  a  proper  estimate  of  the 
power  and  might  of  U.  8.  Black  Hawk  and  his 
Sacs  and  Foxes  were  not  much  to  be  blamed  for 
their  attachment  to  the  beautiful  country  in 
which  they  sojourned  on  the  banks  of  the  beauti- 
ful Rock.  The  site  of  their  main  village  stretch- 
ing along  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  covering 
the  broad  level  prairie  and  the  slopes  of  the  wood- 
ed hills  lying  back  of  the  cities  of  Rock  Island 
and  Moline,  for  scenic  beauty,  stands  unequalled 
in  all  the  great  valley. 

The  sale  made  at  St.  Louis  in  1816  by  a  few 
chiefs  who  were  never  recognized  as  having  any 
authority  was  not  considered  binding.  But  the 
U.  S.  Govt.  had  the  land  surveyed,  declared  open 
for  settlement,  and  in  1832  quite  a  number  of 
families,  mostly  from  the  New  England  states  had 
entered  and  occupied  most  of  the  land  bordering 
the  mouth  of  Rock  River  and  along  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  for  some  miles.  Very  many  of 
these  early  New  England  people  I  knew  in  after 
years,  of  these  hardy  pioneers  something  will  be 
said  farther  on. 

The  currency  in  use  in  the  lead  mine  district  in 
1832  and  for  many  years  after,  was  gold  and  sil- 
ver, mostly  foreign  coins.  The  sovereign,  the 
par  value  of  which  was  &4.87J  invariably  passed 
in  all  home  transaction  at  $4.90.  The  silver  coin 
was  mostly  in  5  franks,  passing  at  93c.  The  min- 
ers would  not  touch  paper  money.  There  was 


23 

very  little  of  C.  8.  coin  in  circulation,  as  these 
foreign  coins  passing  for  little  more  than  their 
intrinsic  value,  kept  the  other  out.  Spanish 
quarters,  half  quarters,  called  bits  and  half  bits 
•called  picaunes,  formed  the  small  change.  A 
copper  coin  was  a  curiosity  in  those  early  days. 
When  the  U.  S.  commenced  coining  ten  cent 
pieces,  a  number  of  enterprising  eastern  people 
brought  them  out,  passing  them  for  12J  cents  for 
sometime. 

Merchants  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  almost 
unlimited  credit,  particularly  to  miners  and  smel- 
ters. If  a  hard  fisted  miner  came  into  town  with 
clothes  ail  stained  up  with  the  yellow  clay  of  the 
mines  and  wanted  anything  on  credit  he  almost 
invariably  got  it. 

This  system  of  almost  unlimited  credit  could  end 
in  but  one  way  eventually,  that  is,  in  embarrass- 
ment and  bankruptcy. 

Quite  a  number  of  merchants  who  were  doing 
an  apparently  prosperous  business  in  1833  and 
1834,  became  embarrassed  and  went  out  of  busi- 
ness. 

Tli3  leading  houses  in  business  in  1833  to  1836 
were  Little  &  Wann,  Campbell  and  Morehouse, 
O.  W.  &  F.  \tchison,  William  Hempstead,  Farns- 
worth  &  Fergeson,  John  Dowling,  John  <fe 
Sewell  Lorrain.  M.  ('.  Com  stock  and  R.  W. 
Brash. 


24 


Two  Years  in  St.  Louis.    My  Residence  in  St.  Louis 
From  1834  to  1836. 

In  the  fall  of  1834,  1  left  my  position  with 
Campbell  &  Morehouse  in  Galena,  and  went  to  St. 
Louis  taking  a  clerkship  with  the  firm  of  Hemp- 
stead  &  Beebe.  William  Hempstead  of  the  firm,. 
I  knew  in  Galena.  They  opened  a  wholesale 
grocery  and  commission  house  on  the  levee,  or 
Front  St.  For  some  years  they  received  and  for- 
warded most  of  the  lead  that  was  shipped  from 
Galena  for  NewJOrleans  and  Pittsburg. 

St.  Louis  had  a  population  at  this  time  of  about 
20,000  to  25,000,  and  done  an  immensa  amount 
of  business  for  a  city  of  this  size.  It  was  the  cen- 
ter and  distributing  point  for  all  the  northwest. 
The  trade  from  the  upper  Mississippi,  the  immense 
fur  trade  of  the  upper  Missouri,  the  trade  from 
the  Illinois  river,  from  Pittsburg  by  way  of  the 
Ohio.  Most  of  the  goods  shipped  from  the  east- 
ern states  by  the  way  of  New  Orleans,  as  well  as 
all  the  foreign  trade  centering  at  New  Orleans, all. 
found  their  way  to  St.  Louis  as  the  distributing 
point  of  the  vast,  but  thinly  settled  territory.  The 
majority  of  the  people  were  French,  very  many 
of  them  speaking  no  other  language.  It  was  an 
amusing  scene  that  met  one  who  attended  the 
large  public  market  located  at  the  the  foot  of  Mar- 
ket street  near  the  river  front.  The  French  hab- 


25 

itants  from  Vide  Porsch,  now  called  Corundalet 
would  all  be  there  with  their  little  quaint  carte 
loaded  with  vegetables  or  little  loads  of  wood,  the 
unvaring  price  of  which  was  six  bits.  If  you  of- 
fered them  75  cents,  the  reply  would  be,  no,  no, 
six  bit.  The  men  and  women  would  keep  up  a 
constant  chattering,  gesticulating  and  shrugging 
their  shoulders,  as  they  were  making  bargains 
with  their  customers  for  their  various  wares.  Even 
at  this  early  day  there  were  many  large,  magnifi- 
cent steamers  engaged  in  the  New  Orleans  trade, 
and  the  levee  was  usually  closely  packed  with 
steamers  from  all  directions.  The  heavy  whole- 
sale grocery  and  commission  houses  were  scatter- 
ed all  along  the  levee  from  Market  street,  north  to 
Washington  street.  The  dry  goods  and  hardware 
hou-es  were  the  most  of  them  found  along  the 
line  of  Market  street,  which  was  at  this  time  only 
built  up  as  far  back  as  Sixth  street.  Fourth  St., 
was  quite  compactly  built  up  some  four  or  five 
blocks  above  Market.  The  Planters  house  was 
built  on  this  street  in  183(3. 

The  court  house  occupied  the  same  site  as  at 
the  present,  but  on  a  much  smaller  scale.  The 
larger  share  of  the  business  previous  to  this  time 
had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  wealthy  French 
settlers.  There  had  begun  to  be  quite  an  influx 
of  good  business  men  from  other  states,  some 
from  the  Southern  states,  but  very  many  of  those 
who  were  enterprising  came  from  New  England. 


Among  the  number  whom  I  recall  were  L.  &  A. 
G.  Farwell,  the  Belchers,  who  built  the  sugar  re- 
finery, Hood  and  Abbott,  I.  S.  Skinner,  L.  <fe  G. 
Erskine.  Along  the  levee  engaged  in  the  whole- 
sale grocery  business,  I.  &  E.  Walsh,  Von  Plui 
<fe  McGill,  E.  &  A.  Tracy,  Hempstead  &  Beebe. 
Wm.  G.  Elliott,  the  Unitarian  preacher,  who 
came  there  in  1834,  who  became  a  power  for  good 
in  building  up  educational  and  scientific  in- 
stitutions. Dr.  Potts  the  Presbyterian  had  charge 
of  a  large  flourishing  church  Way  man  Crow 
another  large  minded  liberal  man,  who  in  after 
days  took  such  an  active  part  in  building  up  the 
mercantile  library,  was  living  here  at  the  time. 
Thus.  H.  Benton,  I  saw  only  once,  his  house  was 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  on  Biddle  St.,  at  the 
base  of  the  St.  Louis  mound,  a  moderate  sized  two 
story  building,  it  wasstill  standing  in  1864  perch- 
ed high  up  above  the  street.  The  mound  was  all 
leveled  down  many  years  ago. 

Thurston  Polk,  a  nephew  of  Prest.  Polk  came  to 
St.  Louis  in  1835.  Most  of  these  men  whose 
names  I  have  mentioned  I  knew  personally. 
Some  others  I  recall,  Henry  G.  Soulard  and  his 
brother,  the  Dr.,  I  also  knew  the  mother  of  them 
all,  and  met  her  at  the  homestead  in  1835,  she 
was  then  85  years  old.  Geo.  Knapp,  so  long  the 
editor  of  the  Republican  was  a  fellow  boarder 
with  me  in  1835.  Theadore  Magill  and  family, 
his  wife's  sisters,  the  Miss  Tessons,  C'apt.  ('alien- 


27 

da,  who  was  the  commander  at  Jefferson  bar- 
racks, I  knew  and  frequently  spent  an  evening 
with  them,  playing  a  social  game  of  whist.  They 
lived  on  Market  street,  between  Fifth  and  Sixth 
streets,  near  Col.  Johnson,  who  had  two  beautiful 
half  breed  daughters,  one  of  whom  in  after  years 
married  Capt.  Gleim,  the  old  time  clerk  of  Cap- 
tain Thockmorton,  who  for  so  many  years  com- 
manded a  number  of  boats  on  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi. 

One  day  when  I  was  on  the  levee  shipping 
goods  I  saw  persons  rushing  up  the  steep  bank  in 
pursuit  of  a  negro  man.  He  had  got  into  an  al- 
tercation with  some  one,  and  an  officer  undertook 
to  arrest  him.  He  resisted  and  knocking  the  of- 
ficers hat  off,  fled  up  the  levee,  but  was  overtaken. 
When  the  officer  told  him  that  he  should  take 
him  to  the  calaboose,  he  drew  a  huge  bowie  knife 
and  struck  the  officer  across  the  abdomen,  inflict- 
ing a  mortal  wound,  he  then  rushed  up  Olive 
street  pursued  by  a  crowd,  turning  .south  on 
Fourth  street;  as  he  passed  the  court  house,  a  dep- 
uty sheriff  rushed  out  and  took  hold  of  him;  the 
negro  struck  him  in  the  neck  with  his  murderous 
knife  and  nearly  severed  his  head  from  his  body. 
The  brave  officer  fell  weltering  in  his  blood  on 
the  sidewalk.  It  was  near  supper  time  and  hun- 
dreds were  passing  at  the  time.  The  desperado 
was  finally  disabled  by  a  brick  bat,  and  taken  and 
carried  to  the  calaboose.  Soon  after  supper  I 


28 

heard  an  uproar  in  the  street,  Cries  of  "to  the  cala- 
boose!" "To  the  calaboose!"  The  crowd  took  the 
negro  out  and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  he  was 
firmly  bound  by  a  strong  chain  to  a  scrub  oak, 
on  the  line  of  Seventh  street,  young  negroes  bring- 
ing shavings  and  fence  rails,  which  were  heaped 
around  him.  The  scene  was  on  slopeing  ground 
and  the  tree  to  which  he  was  bound  was  at  the 
foot  of  the  slope.  The  whole  side  of  the  hill  was 
covered  with  the  dense  crowd.  As  soon  as  the 
torch  was  applied  and  the  flames  encircled  his 
body  he  commenced,  singing  in  a  loud  voice  his 
death  song. 

Young  Meseray  who  was  a  recent  arrival  from 
Boston  raised  the  cry,  "shoot  him!"  "shoot  him!" 
The  counter  cry  of  "burn  him  !"  "burn  him  !"  was 
echoed  by  nearly  all  the  vast  crowd.  The  flames 
were  fierce  and  strong,  and  tire  agony  of  the  negro 
wassoon  over.  Eastern  papers  at  the  time  strongly 
critisized  the  St.  Louis  people  for  the  act,  but  the 
provocation  was  very  great,  both  of  the  officers 
were  men  much  respected.  I  knew  the  deputy 
sheriff  well,  he  was  the  brother-in-law  of  my  old 
time  friend,  Mortomer  Kennett. 

Another  incident  on  the  levee  while  I  was  liv- 
ing in  St.  Louis.  The  negro  roustabouts  were 
rolling  some  casks  of  bacon  down  the  steep  bank 
for  shipment  on  a  NQW  Orleans  boat.  Singing 
their  merry  songs  with  the  chorus,  when  they 
heard  a  weak  faint  voice  coming  apparently  from 


29 

the  cask.  "Don't,  Don't,  you  hurt  me."  One  of  the 
darkies  said,  "what  dat !  in  the  cask."  Another 
said,  "sho  noting  in  de  cask,  go  ahead".  Another 
roll  and  another  louder  cry  of  "Let  me  out!" 
"Let  me  out !"  "Dere  is  a  man  in  that  cask  shur. 
Turn  up  the  cask — get  hatchet  and  open  the  cask 
and  let  de  poor  man  out."  The  cask  was  opened 
and  the  bacon  thrown  out  piece  by  piece  in  great 
haste  and  nothing  found.  They  all  rushed  on  to 
the  boat  saying,  "that  cask  Hoodo  shur." 

Signor  Blitz  the  celebrated  prestidigitator  and 
ventriloquist,  with  two  others  of  his  friends  were 
by  enjoying  the  fun. 

In  1837  there  were  a  series  of  robberies  perpe- 
trated along  the  river  from  St.  Louis  to  Galena, 
and  for  sometime  no  clue  could  be  found  to  them. 
The  last  and  worst  was  the  attempt  to  rob  the 
bank  of  Collier  &  Pettus,  located  on  Olive  street, 
between  3d  and  4th  sts.,  which  resulted  in  the 
murder  of  two  of  the  clerks  who  were  sleeping  in 
the  adjoining  room,  and  then  the  bank  was  set  on 
fire  to  conceal  the  murder.  The  robbers  did  not 
obtain  anything. 

Detectives  were  set  at  work,  who  finally  ascer- 
tained that  all  these  robberies  along  the  river  had 
been  done  by  two  or  three  colored  men  emplo}red 
on  the  boats.  One  of  the  number  after  his  con- 
viction made  a  full  confession,  telling  of  a  num- 
ber of  robberies  committed  along  the  river  when- 
ever the  boat  they  were  on  was  lying  by  a  night. 


30 

Among  the  rest  was  an  old  rattle  trap  safe  they 
looted  in  Galena,  belonging  to  my  friends,  B.  H. 
Campbell  and  Miers  F.  Truett.  W.  G.  Pettus, 
whose  clerks  were  murdered  was  my  employer  in 
a  store  at  the  corner  of  Market  and  Fourth  streets. 

John  W    Spencer's  Sketches  of  Early  Days  in 
Rock  Island. 

I  have  mentioned  John  W.  Spencer's  name  and 
given  a  partial  history  of  his  connection  with  the 
early  history  of  the  town.  I  will  add  some  furth- 
er particulars  about  him,  mostly  condenced  from 
a  short  history  written  some  years  ago,  a  few 
years  before  his  death.  Dictated  by  him  to  his 
daughter  Mary,  the  wife  of  T.  Tyler  Robinson. 

He  left  Vermont  in  1820  for  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
From  there  he  went  with  some  of  his  relatives 
into  Green  Co.,  Illinois,  to  secure  their  claims, 
While  living  in  this  part  of  the  claim,  Alton  40 
miles  away,  was  the  nearest  postoffice.  In  1827 
he  went  to  the  Galena  lead  mines  to  try  his  luck 
there,  passing  Rock  Island  on  his  way  up  the 
river  in  March,  and  returning  late  in  the  summer. 
In  the  fall  of  1828  he  went  to  Morgan  county  12 
miles  from  Jacksonville.  Rennah  Wills  in  pass- 
ing down  from  Galena  stopped  with  him  over 
night,  and  told  him  that  the  Indians  had  left 
their  old  village  at  Rock  Island.  We  both  liked 
the  country  very  much  when  we  passed.  In  less 


31 

than  a  week  he  and  London  Case,  Sr.,  were  on  the 
way  to  learn  if  the  Indians  had  left.  On  the  way 
we  met  a  Mr.  Pence,  who  was  on  his  way  with  a 
load  of  corn  from  Peoria  for  Judge  Spence,  who 
was  just  moving  to  the  old  Indian  village  on 
Rock  River.  They  reached  Rock  River  the  9th 
of  December,  and  found  Judge  looking  for  a  ford. 
We  crossed  about  sundown  and  found  several 
wigwams,  in  the  largest  we  passed  the  night.  In 
the  morning  we  looked  for  a  better  wigwam  and 
found  one  which  proved  to  be  Black  Hawk's,  a 
very  comfortable  one  made  of  bark,  large  and 
roomy.  On  their  arrival  they  found  no  Indians, 
they  were  all  absent  on  their  winter's  hunt.  We 
found  here  two  white  families,  near  the  old  Far- 
nam  house  (just  below  the  Cable  residence)  Capt. 
Louis  Clark,  of  Buffalo  Scott  Co.,  and  a  man 
named  Harvey.  Near  Rapids  City,  were  John 
and  Thos.  Kinney,  Archibald  Allen  and  Conrad 
Leak.  These  were  all  the  settlers  on  the  main 
land.  North,  about  70  miles,  the  Dafidson  family 
near  Savanna.  Two  miles  below  New7  Boston, 
the  Denisons,  on  the  lower  Rapids  the  family  of 
old  Jim  White  (The  father  of  three  or  four  noted 
river  pilots  in  after  years.)  Soon  after  he  came 
to  Rock  Island  his  business  taking  him  to  Galena, 
the  officers  at  the  garrison  being  anxious  to  hear 
the  result  of  the  election  of  1828,  arranged  to  have 
him  carry  the  mail  to  Galena,  and  all  in  return, 
for  which  he  was  to  receive  $5.00.  He  made  the 


32 

trip  on  foot,  taking  a  pair  of  skates  along,  his 
first  night  was  at  the  head  of  the  Rapids,  the  next 
stopping  would  be  at  Davidson's,  50  miles.  He 
met  during  the  day  a  large  party  of  Winnebagos, 
passed  through  them  without  any  trouble,  skat- 
ing along  on  a  la**ge  pond,  the  skates  seemed  to 
astonish  the  Indians.  He  could  not  cross  Plumb 
river  and  was  obliged  to  camp  out,  he  succeeded 
in  making  a  fire  and  in  the  morning  crossed  the 
river  above  where  the  ice  was  good,  not  going  to 
Davidson's  at  all.  He  reached  Galena  safely,  ex- 
changed mails  and  started  on  his  return  trip 
about  noon  Christmas,  stopped  all  nightata  wood 
chopper's  hut.  The  next  morning  took  breakfast 
at  Davidson's.  The  next  night  he  camped  near  the 
Meridocia,  he  heard  the  wolves  walking  about 
him  all  night  and  the  Indian  dogs  barking  on 
an  island  near  by.  The  next  day  he  reached  the 
Fort,  bringing  the  mail,  giving  the  news  of  the 
election  of  Gen.  Jackson. 

After  coming  here  in  the  fall  of  1827,  and  mak- 
ing a  selection  of  a  farm,  he  moved  from  Mor- 
gan county  and  arrived  here  on  the  first  day  of 
March,  1829.  There  was  no  house  to  be  seen,  so 
he  hunted  up  a  wigwam,  finding  one  on  the  bluff 
near  where  Henry  Case  now  lives.  The  same 
spring  London  Case  and  his  three  sons,  Jonah, 
London  and  Charles  came  and  settled  on  the  old 
Case  place.  Rennah  Wills  and  his  four  sons, 
and  Joshua  Vandruff  settled  on  Rock  River,  in 


S3 

January,  before  Joel  Wills  settled  near  Hampton. 
In  the  spring  Joel  Wills  Sr.,  and  Levi  and  Hunt- 
ington  Wills  settled  at  Moline,  Joseph  Danforth 
son-in-law  of  Rennah  Wills  a  short  distance  above. 
Michael  0.  Bartlett  above  where  the  quilt  factory 
stands.  About  the  last  of  May  Mr.  Goble  and 
his  son  Ben,  settling  just  above  Danforth.  Wm. 
T.  Brashar  settled  on  the  farm  bearing  his  name. 
But  a  few  days  elapsed  when  two  Indians  came, 
the  first  we  had  seen.  One  of  them  commenced 
talking  in  a  loud  voice  pointing  to  his  wigwam, 
saying  "Sanki  Wigeop,"  pointing  to  the  ground, 
saying  "Sanku  Anihe"  claiming  the  wigwam  and 
the  land.  This  man  proved  to  be  Black  Hawk. 
The  first  he  went  to  was  his  own  wigwam  occupied 
by  Judge  Spence  near  Rock  River.  They  had 
never  heard  of  Black  Hawk.  He  seemed  to  be 
very  much  troubled  at  finding  his  wigwam  occu- 
pied. About  six  weeks  after  Black  Hawk  returned 
with  his  Indians,  about  two  hundred  of  them,  all 
young  men,  mounted,  they  rode  round  Judge 
Spence's  house,  (he  had  built  a  cabin  and  left 
Black  Hawk's  wigwam.)  Mrs.  Spence  was  very 
much  alarmed  being  alone  with  her  children. 
She  sent  one  of  the  children  to  the  fort.  Oapt. 
Nelson  in  command  sent  the  interpreter  Antonie 
Seclair  down,  who  told  them  they  must  behave 
or  the  soldiers  at  the  fort  would  be  after  them. 
They  became  quiet  after  this,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  little  trouble  with  Rennah  Wills. 


34 

They  had  corn  fields  all  along  the  base  of  the 
bluffs,  the  corn  being  planted  in  raised  hills 
at  first,  and  added  to  from  year  to  year,  look- 
ing like  small  mounds,  some  of  them  were 
plainly  to  be  seen  forty  years  after.  They 
also  raised  a  good  many  beans  and  squashes.  The 
work  of  cultivation  was  done  almost  entirely  by 
the  squaws  and  children.  They  had  slight  fences, 
only  which  would  turn  cattle  and  hogs  away. 
Chief  Keokuk  in  the  spring  when  the  corn  was 
up  about  knee  high  called  on  the  white  settlers 
and  requesed  them  them  to  keep  the  cattle  up 
nights  as  the  Indian  fences  were  so  poor.  They 
all  complied  except  Rennah  Wills,  who  thought 
it  to  much  trouble.  When  the  corn  was  large 
enough  for  roasting  ears,  Wills  cattle  broke  into 
and  destroyed  the  corn  of  a  number  of  Indian 
families  one  or  two  nights.  Mr.  Wills  had  corn 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road,  the  next  time  the 
Indians  turned  Wills  cattle  into  his  field.  Wills 
kept  his  cattle  up  after  this.  He  became  very 
well  accquainted  with  Black  Hawk,  living  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  him  all  one  sum- 
mer. He  was  a  man  of  medium  size,  about  60 
years  of  age,  a  very  quiet  peaceable  neighbor  and 
a  strong  temperance  man.  He  made  a  visit  with 
a  few  of  his  braves  to  a  man  who  was  selling 
whisky  to  his  Indians.  He  rolled  the  whisky 
barrels  out  doors  and  knocked  in  the  heads.  The 
agent  told  him  he  might  get  himself  into  trouble 


35 

if  he  done  it  any  more.  This  discouraged  him  in 
his  efforts  to  save  his  braves  from  the  evils  of 
strong  drink.  Before  the  war  with  the  whites  he 
always  wore  the  usual  Indian  costume.  After  the 
war  he  wore  the  white  man's  dress. 

The  Indians  left  for  their  usual  fall  and  winter 
hunts  about  the  fifteenth  of  September,  and  all 
left  the  same  day.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  owned 
the  lands  jointly;  when  they  traveled  they  had 
separate  camps.  The  Foxes  while  living  here  oc- 
cupied the  land  from  Jonah  Case's  place  up  as  far 
as  Wm;  Brooks'.  The  Foxes  had  mostly  left  be- 
fore the  whites  came,  except  a  few  who  had  inter- 
married with  the  Sacs  and  they  had  villages  at 
Princeton,  Bellevue  and  Dubuque.  In  starting 
for  their  huntinggroundsdown  the  rivertheytook 
with  them  five  or  six  hundred  horses  and  about 
two  hundred  canoes,  ascending  the  Iowa,  Skunk 
and  Des  Moines  rivers,  and  smaller  streams  that 
would  admit  a  canoe.  After  the  fall  hunt  they 
had  a  rendezvous  appointed  where  all  were  to  meet, 
making  sometimes  temporary  forts  as  a  protection 
against  their  enemies,  the  Sioux.  After  making 
their  maple  sugar  in  the  spring  they  were  ready 
to  return  to  their  old  village  at  Rock  Island.  They 
would  all  meet  near  the  mouth  of  the  Iowa  river 
and  starting  from  there  with  their  horses  and 
canoes  would  proceed  slowly  and  orderly  under  a 
leader  up  the  river  usually  making  eight  or  ten 
miles  a  day.  They  would  arrive  here  at  the  same 


36 

hour.  They  brought  home  little  besides  maple 
sugar  and  dried  meat,  having  sold  their  pelting 
and  furs  to  the  traders  along  the  river.  Now  they 
commenced  looking  for  their  corn  and  beans 
which  they  had  cached  the  season  before.  They 
usually  found  them  all  right,  as  they  had  a  way 
of  so  covering  up  all  signs  of  their  caches  that  is 
very  difficult  for  any  one  else  to  find  them.  Some- 
times the  thieving  Winnebagos  whom  they  hated, 
(and  nothing  would  displease  a  Sauke  more  than 
to  call  him  a  Winnebago)  would,  sticking  their 
spear  in  the  ground,  find  one  and  steal  their  sup- 
plies. 

They  made  one  buffalo  hunt  each  year  leaving 
the  first  of  July.  In  order  to  be  ready  for  their 
deadly  enemies  the  Sioux,  each  man  was  armed 
with  a  gun,  a  bow,  and  a  large  bundle  of  arrows. 
They  expected  fighting,  and  generally  brought 
home  scalps,  dried  meat  and  tallow,  but  no  buffalo 
robes  on  account  of  the  hot  weather. 

This  year,  our  Indians,  in  an  attack  on  the  Sioux 
camp  on  Turkey  river  some  miles  above  Dubu- 
que  killed  several  Sioux,  and -among  the  rest  a 
Winnebago  squaw  and  a  Menominee  boy.  They 
settled  with  the  Winnebagos  by  giving  them 
horses.  They  always  avoided  a  rupture  with  the 
Winnebagos  who  were  eight  thousand  strong. 
The  Menominees  were  good  friends  of  theirs,  some 
of  them  speaking  the  same  language,  but  were  a 
long  distance  away.  Nine  of  the  Foxes  started 


37 

with  a  canoe  for  Praire  Du  Chein  to  make  restitu- 
tion for  the  boy  killed.  When  a  little  below  the 
Wisconsin  river  they  were  attacked  by  the  Me- 
nominees  and  all  killed.  This  stirred  up  a  spirit 
of  revenge  and  in  August  our  Indians  surprised 
the  Menominees  within  three  hundred  yards  of 
Fort  Crawford  and  killed  forty-six  men,  women 
and  children.  Our  government  called  our  Indians 
to  account  for  this.  Keokuk,  as  chief,  on  being 
calle-lon  toolc  a  stick  au  1  balancing  it  on  his  hand, 
said  "nine  of  the  principal  men  of  the  Foxes  on 
one  end  and  torty-six,  men  women  and  children 
of  the  Menominees  on  the  other  is  about  even." 
And  that  was  the  settlement. 

The  possessions  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  commen- 
ced at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river  and  along 
that  stream  as  far  as  Peoria  north,  to  strike  the 
Wisconsin,  about  seventy  miles  from  its  mouth, 
down  the  Wisconsin  to  the  Mississippi,  and  down 
the  Mississippi  to  the  place  of  beginning.  This 
powerful  tribe  of  Indians,  much  more  powerful 
many  years  ago  than  now,  came"  last  from  Green 
Bay  and  some  of  them  from  Canada.  According 
to  Park  man's  history,  one  hundred  or  more  years 
ago  they  were  the  most  powerful  and  aggressive 
tribe  in  the  Northwest,  the  parent  stock  were  called 
Abegenses.  They  had  been  living  here  about  sixty 
years,  where  they  reached  the  father  of  waters 
and  found  here  and  along  the  banks  of  the  Rock 
River  the  most  beautiful  countrv  thev  had  ever 


38 

seen — the  rivers  abounding  in  fish  and  the  coun- 
try alive  with  game — no  wonder  they  were  not 
willing  to  leave  it  to  be  driven  away  so  ruthless- 
ly and  unjustly. 

The}T  had  an  old  legend  about  the  Island,  and 
this  was  the  reason  they  disliked  so  much  to  leave 
this  most  beautiful  of  all  islands  in  the  Missis- 
sippi occupied  as  a  military  post.  They  thought 
a  good  spirit  had  charge  of  it,  who  lived  in  a 
small  cave  under  the  place  in  which  the  fort  was 
built.  The  spirit  as  seen  by  Indians  was  white 
with  wings  like  a  swan  only  ten  times  larger. 
They  were  always  careful  to  avoid  making  any 
noise  when  they  came  on  the  island  in  the  sum- 
mer. The  noise  made  in  building  the  fort  drove 
the  good  spirit  away.  In  1804  one  of  our  Indians 
killed  a  man  in  St.  Louis  and  was  put  in  jail,  a 
deputation  of  rive  men  from  the  Sacs  were  sent 
down  to  get  him  released  taking  horses  along  to 
be  given  for  his  release.  While  there  these  five 
men  sold  the  United  States  all  their  lands  east  of 
the  Mississippi  river  for  an  annuity  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars,  annually  forever.  Gen.  Clark  mak- 
ing the  treaty  for  the  government.  The  larger 
part  of  the  Indians  were  bitterly  opposed  to 
the  sale,  out  of  this  sale  grew  the  Black  Hawk 
War. 

There  was  a  claim  in  the  treaty  that  the  In- 
dians might  occupy  the  land  while  it  belonged  to 
the  government.  It  had  been  surveyed  some  years 


39 

before.  Notice  had  been  given  that  the  land 
would  be  offered  for  sale  in  October  and  the  In- 
dian agent  told  them  they  must  not  come  back, 
but  they  did,  but  not  in  such  numbers  as  be- 
fore, as  Keokuk,  who  was  opposed  to  returning 
had  commenced  a  village  on  the  Iowa  river.  Keo- 
kuk was  a  remarkable  orator,  but  not  an  hereditary 
chief.  Black  Hawk  was  a  born  chief  and  was  the 
head  of  what  was  called  the  British  party.  In 
1831  the  Indians  relanded  in  large  numbers  and 
with  quite  a  different  spirit  towards  the  whites. 
Black  Hawk  gave  the  settlers  notice  that  after 
this  season  they  must  go  south  of  Rock  River  or 
above  Pleasant  Valley.  He  wanted  all  the  coun- 
try between  the  two  rivers  exclusively  for  his  In- 
dians, giving  as  a  reason  they  could  not  give  up 
their  pleasant  grounds.  That  they  were  safe  on 
this  side  of  the  river  from  the  Sioux.  He  said  we 
could  all  stay  until  next  season  except  Vandruff 
and  Rennah  Wells,  (both  rather  hard  nuts)  old  man 
Vandruff  said  it  would  be  hard  for  him  to  leave 
with  his  twelve  children  and  he  was  a  poor  man. 
Black  Hawk  said  he  could  stay  another  season, 
but  Wells  must  go  at  once,  but  he  finally  consent- 
ed to  let  him  stay  thirty  days.  This  new  move  of 
the  Indians  made  it  necessary  for  the  settlers  to 
look  around  for  protection.  \Ve  sent  a  statement 
of  our  situation  to  the  governor  of  the  state.  He 
moved  at  once  in  the  matter  applying  to  old  Gen. 
Oaines  at  Jefferson  barracks,  Missouri.  He  took 


40 

the  sixth  regiment  and  proceeded  at  once-  to  Rock 
Island.  He  had  all  the  white  settlers  with  their 
cattle  and  effects  come  onto  the  island  at  once. 
He  then  sent  for  Black  Hawk  to  have  a  talk  with 
him — the  day  was  set.  Keokuk  and  some  of  his 
friends  came  up  from  their  village  on  the  Iowa 
river  and  came  on  the  island.  They  all  met  in 
the  council  house,  Black  Hawk  with  some  seventy 
of  his  warriors  painted  and  dressed,  and  near  the 
council  house  commenced  singing  in  a  very  loud 
manner.  This  seemed  to  alarm  Keokuk  and  his 
party,  and  they  left  in  their  canoes  in  great  haste 
fearing  a  massacre.  A  man  with  Black  Hawk 
commenced  speaking  in  a  loud  boisterous  man- 
ner seeming  to  be  very  angry.  Gen.Gaines  spoke 
to  him  very  gently  of  the  sale  of  the  land  and 
reaching  the  treaty  seemed  to  enrage  him  still 
more.  He  said  "white  people  speak  from  paper, 
but  Indian  always  speak  from  the  heart."  After 
the  purchase  of  these  lands  in  1804  the  govern- 
ment had  exchanged  all  the  lands  lying  north  of 
what  was  called  the  Indian  boundary  line,  which 
struck  the  Mississippi  near  the  lower  line  of  Rock 
Island  ranging  from  the  most  Southern  point  of 
Lake  Michigan,  with  the  Chippewas,  Pottowato- 
mis  and  Ottowas,  for  land  lying  about  Chicago, 
In  18*29  the  government  re-purchased  these  lands 
of  the  Indians,  giving  them  $10,000  a  year  for- 
ever, and  allowing  them  to  select  a  quarter  of  a 
section  for  each  of  their  half  breeds.  Antonie 


41 

Leclairand  his  brother  selected  theirs  on  the  Miss- 
issippi river,  commencing  at  Molineand  running 
up  to  Watertown,  Henry  McNeal's  old  place. 
Black  Hawk  said  in  reply  about  the  treaty  of 
1804,  that  the  men  had  no  right  to  make  it,  had 
no  right  to  sell  it,  if  it  was  sold,  they  got  nothing 
for  it.  For  if  a  small  part  of  the  land  was  worth 
$16,000  a  year  forever,  a  small  portion  of  it  was 
worth  more  than  $2,000,  Black  Hawk's  reasoning 
was  right,  we  thought.  He  said  he  would  not 
fight  and  would  not  leave.  Gen.  Gaines  inter- 
preted his  talk  to  mean  that  he  would  fight.  The 
force  here  was  small — only  about  five  hundred  in 
all.  The  men  and  boys  of  'the  settlement  were 
all  in  the  fort  away  from  their  homes,  doing  noth- 
ing. It  was  proposed  to  the  General  that  a  com- 
pany should  be  formed  from  the  settlers,  this 
was  done  and  fifty-eight  men  were  enrolled,  and 
called  the  Rock  River  Rangers.  Benjamin  I. 
Peter  was  elected  captain,  John  W.  Spencer  and 
Griffith  'Aubry  lieutenants,  Chas.  Case,  Benj. 
Gable  and  Henry  Benson  corporals.  The  com- 
pany was  mustered  into  service  on  the  oth  of 
June,  1831. 

Gen.  Gaines  called  on  the  governor  for  help  and 
col lected  about  U500  at  the  rendezvous  at  Beards- 
town.  Another  meeting  or  two  was  held  with  Black 
Hawk  while  the  force  was  collecting.  Gen.  Gaines 
fitted  up  the  steamer  Winnebago  with  a  cannon 
on  the  bow,  and  a  company  of  soldiers  going  on 


42 

the  boat  went  up  Rock  river  passing  withing  fifty 
yards  of  their  wigwams.     But   they  showed  no 
surprise,  no  wonder  or  fear.     As  soon  as  the  gov- 
ernor's troops  were  collected,  they  inarched  to  Rock 
Island  camping  within   two  miles  of  the  island. 
Tha  Indians  were  aware  of  their  approach,  cross- 
ed the  Mississippi,  taking  with  them  their  women 
and  children  and  all  their  effects.     The  next  day 
was  fixed  for  the   attack   on    Black  Hawk.     The 
steam  boat  was  to  ascend  the  river  with  one  com- 
pany of  men  from  the  fort  while  the   rest  of  the 
forces  under  the  command  of  Major  Bliss  were  to 
march  over  land  to  the   Indian   village.     An  In- 
dian named    Black    Buffalo   met  the  troops  and 
John    W.  Spencer,  ( who  knew  him  well,)  he  told 
that  the  Indians  had  gone  across  the   river.     He 
was  not  beieived  and  was  kept  a  prisoner  for  that 
day.     They  took  up  their   line  of  march  taking 
the  direction  of  Black  Hawk's   town.     Arriving, 
.a  cannon  was  placed  on  the  brow  of  the  bluffarid 
grape  and  canister  was  thrown    into   the  bushes 
on  Vandruff  island.     Gen.  Gaines  arriving  with 
the  boat  commenced  firing  into  the   island    also. 
(Some  years  after,  about  1870.  the  writer  found  a 
six  pound  cannon  ball  just  above  Sears  mill,  the 
bed  of  the  river  had  been   laid  bare  by    a  coffer- 
dam but  above,  this  ball    I  still    have   and    have 
no  doubt  it  was  thrown  at  this  time.)   Another  in- 
cident  connected   with   their   state  volunteers  is 
this,  that   Abraham    Lincoln    was    there  among 


43 

them.  It  proved  that  Black  Buffalo  told  the 
truth.  The  volunteers  burned  the  Indian  wig- 
wams (an  unjust  proceeding)  and  marched  to 
Rock  Island  camping  along  the  river  from  the 
the  present  ferry  landing  to  the  freight  depot. 
They  turned  these  1600  horses  loose  on  the  prairie 
and  the  next  thing  to  do  was  to  find  food  for 
their  supper.  Mr,  Spencer  had  a  field  of  twenty 
acres  of  corn  arid  potatoes,  and  the  volunteers 
went  for  the  fence.  Gen.  Gaines  told  them  to  stop 
and  they  did  while  he  was  there,  but  they  destroy- 
ed the  fence,  and  he  lost  his  crop,  receiving 
from  the  volunteers,  ten  times  as  much  damage 
as  the  Indians  had  ever  done  him — for  which  he 
never  received  a  cent.  Afterwards  Black  Hawk 
was  asked  why  he  did  not  stay  as  he  said  he  would. 
He  said  he  would  have  stayed  if  there  had  been 
only  the  United  States  troops,  as  they  were  under 
good  control. 

A  few  days  after  there  was  another  meeting 
held  with  Black  Hawk  and  another  treaty 
made  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  the  Indians 
were  to  stay  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and 
the  government  was  to  give  them  as  much  corn 
as  they  would  have  raised  in  their  corn  field. 
John  W.  Spencer  and  Rennah  Wells  were  select- 
ed to  make  the  estimate,  which  amounted  to  sev- 
eral thousand  bushels. 

This  closed  the  operations  in  1831.  In  the 
spring  of  1832  the  Indians  violated  their  agree- 


44 

meet  to  keep  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  They 
crossed  at  Burlington  (called  Flint  Hills)  and 
came  up  as  usual  with  their  canoes  and  horses. 
Gen.  Atkinson  with  one  regiment  of  United 
States  troops  was  sent  up  from  Jefferson  barracks, 
reaching  here  before  the  Indians,  as  the  Indians 
did  not  make  more  than  ten  miles  a  day,  reach- 
ing here  soon  after  the  General.  They  kept  on 
the  south  side  of  Big  Island.  When  they  were 
near  the  present  site  of  Moline,  John  W.  Spencer 
went  over  to  watch  their  movements.  He  met 
four  young  men,  one  of  them  was  Seoscuk,  Black 
Hawk's  son,  a  splendid  looking  fellow.  He  ask- 
ed him  where  they  were  going.  He  said  they 
might  go  over  to  their  village  or  they  might  stop 
where  they  were  or  go  up  Rock  river  to  Prophets- 
town.  Mr.  Spencer  was  the  only  white  man  who 
had  any  communication  with  them  at  this  point. 
They  went  up  Rock  river  about  two  miles  and 
encamped  for  the  night.  Mr.  Spencer  told  Sea- 
scuk  that  there  was  a  good  many  troops  at  the 
fort.  The  next  morning  the  Indians  were  heard 
beating  their  drums  and  singing.  Gen.  Atkinson 
was  anxious  to  learn  what  were  their  movements 
and  also  to  inform  the  frontier  settlers  of  their 
danger.  Mr.  Spencer  proposed  to  take  his  dis- 
patch to  the  nearest  settlement;  taking  a  canoe 
to  avoid  the  Indians,  he  went  to  the  mouth  of 
Rock  river  and  hiding  the  canoe  made  the  rest  of 
the  journey  on  foot.  He  delivered  the  dispatch 


45 

of  warning  to  a  few  settlers,  and  coming  back 
found  his  canoe  all  right.  It  was  supposed  the 
General  would  stop  the  Indians  at  this  point,  but 
he  did  not,  but  he  sent  to  the  governor  for  help. 
He  was  soon  here  with  1800  mounted  men,  they 
were  then  ready  to  follow  the  Indians  up  Rock 
river,  but  a  steam  boat  could  not  cross  the  rapids, 
so  a  small  keel  boat  of  80  tons  was  loaded  with 
supplies  and  started  up  Rock  river.  It  took  two 
days  to  get  over  the  rapids  and  on  the  8th  of  May 
the  expedition  started  ;  they  found  the  stream 
very  rapid  and  it  was  very  hard  work  for  the 
soldiers  to  push  the  boat  along  up  the  river.  The 
General  had  several  hundred  regulars  with  him 
and  the  crew  of  the  boat  was  changed  every  day. 
The  first  camping  place  was  about  two  miles 
above  the  I.  C.  R.  R.,  bridge.  The  second  at 
Canoe  Creek,  the  third  at  Sand  Prairie.  This 
part  of  the  river  was  so  low  that  we  made  but 
little  progress.  The  fourth  encampment  was 
about  two  miles  above  Prophetstown.  The  troops 
were  officered  by  Gen.  Atkinson,  Col.  Zachariah 
Taylor,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Capt.  Kearney;  Capt. 
Lincoln,  belonged  to  the  volunteers.  The  others 
to  the  regulars.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  May 
— a  pleasant  moonlight  night  when  ayoungman 
from  Dixon  came  down  and  said  Maj.  Still  man 
of  the  volunteer  force  had  been  defeated  and  there 
was  a  great  loss  of  life.  Maj.  Stillman  had  ren- 
dezvoused at  Dixon  with  about  300  men  who 
came  mostly  from  Peoria. 


46 

The  governor  was  ordered  to  this  place,  when 
he  arrived,  Stillman  had  been  several  days  in 
camp  and  his  men  were  tired  of  camp  life.  So 
Stillman  proposed  while  they  were  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  general  Atkinson  that  he  be  permitted 
to  go  and  find  the  Indians.  Governor  consented 
and  they  drew  rations  for  four  or  five  days. 
Whisky  constituted  one  of  the  rations.  On  the 
first  day  out  the  volunteers  concluded  the  best 
way  to  carry  the  whisky  was  to  drink  it  all  in  one 
day,  by  night  many  of  them  were  not  very  sober. 
About  an  hour  before  dark  they  camped  only 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  Indians,  They  had 
not  been  in  camp  long  when  Black  Hawk  sent 
three  of  his  braves  with  a  flag  of  truce,  saying 
that  Black  Hawk  would  come  in  the  morning  and 
have  a  talk  with  them,  that  he  did  not  want  to  fight 
Black  Hawk  sent  four  or  five  of  his  men  out  on 
the  prairie  to  see  how  their  flag  of  truce  was  re- 
ceived. Some  twenty  or  thirty  of  our  men  being 
under  the  influence  of  whisky  gathered  up  there 
horses  and  guns  and  rode  out  to  where  the  In- 
dians were  sitting  not  expecting  any  harm,  when 
our  men  rode  near  them,  raised  their  guns  delib- 
erately, killing  three  of  the  Indians,  the  other  two 
fleeing  to  their  encampment,  (shame  on  the 
drunken  cowards.)  Those  bearing  the  flag  of 
truce  in  the  flurry  and  excitement  sprang  away 
and  escaped.  Now  our  troops  prepared  to.  meet 
the  Indians  as  they  felt  sure  they  would  fight. 


47 

As  soon  as  the  news  reached  the  Indians  they 
flew  to  their  horses,  and  came  on  to  the  fight. 
They  commenced  firing  at  long  rangeand  before 
many  shots  had  been  fired,  our  men  commenced 
a  stampede  for  Dixon,  the  Indians  close  in  the 
rear  killing  all  who  were  unhorsed  in  the  fight. 
The  men  who  first  came  to  Dixon  reported  that 
nearly  the  whole  command  was  killed,  but  it  turn- 
ed out  the  most  made  a  bee  line  for  their  homes. 
A  strong  force  was  sent  out  the  next  day  to  bring 
in  the  dead,  there  were  eleven  killed  of  the  whites 
and  five  Indians  including  the  three  killed  on  the 
prairie.  Black  Hawk  did  not  want  to  fight  and 
intended  to  give  himself  up  and  these  few  drunk- 
en cowardly  men'brought  this  trouble  and  ex- 
pense -upon  us,  causing  the  loss  of  many  valuable 
lives  and  costing  many  thousands  of  dollars, 
spreading  terror  and  alarm  all  over  Northern 
Illinois  and  Southern  Wisconsin.  This  condensed 
account  I  have  given,  as  narrated  by  my  good 
old  time  friend,  a  brave,  honorable,  upright,  truth- 
ful man,  is  the  only  one  that  Hiave  ever  seen  that 
gives  a  true  and  just  account  of  this  most  unfort- 
unate war.  Governor  Ford's  history  of  the  inci- 
dents connected  with  this  war  after  what  is  re- 
lated by  Judge  Spencer  is  probably  the  best  that 
has  been  written.  In  order  to  give  a  full  history 
of  the  first  settlement  of  Rock  Island  and  vicinity 
before  1833  I  have  used  Mr.  Spencer's  narative 
up  to  1832. 

( J.  W.  Spencer's  narative  as  told  by  his  daughter 
Mary,  the  wife  of  Tyler  Robinson,  and  written  down 
by  her. 


48 

Sketches  of  Some  of  the  Early  Settlers  Near  Rock 
Island. 


Charles  Atkinson  settled  at  Cleveland  on  Rock 
river  in  1838,  I  met  him  and  his  amiable  wife 
while  they  were  living  there.  A  few  years  after 
he  moved  to  Moliue  and  assisted  in  organizing 
the  Moline  Water  Power  company  of  which  he  was 
president  and  the  moving  directing  spirit  for 
many  years.  And  when  the  goverment  formulat- 
ed a  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  island,  in- 
cluding the  immense  work  shops  since  erected, 
requiring  the  use  of  the  water  power  already  in 
use  by  the  company,  Mr.  Atkinson  drew  up  a 
strong  contract  and  had  it  accepted  by  the  war 
department,  which  gave  the  Water  Power  com- 
pany many  advantages.  Binding  the  govern- 
ment to  do  certain  things,  among  the  rest  giving 
the  company  the  use  of  one-third  of  the  power.  It 
wasconsidered  to  be  a  very  sharp  bargain  and  thus 
far  has  proved  to  be  a  very  costly  one  to  the  Unit- 
ed States.  The  whole  transcaction  showed  Mr. 
Atkinson  to  be  a  very  sharp  business  man. 

W.  W.  Wright  settled  in  Hampton  sometime  in 
the  40s.  He  entered  into  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness and  for  many  years  done  a  very  flourishing 
business,  dealing  largely  in  the  products  of  the 
county.  Having  the  entire  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity, many  of  the  farmers  who  had  surplus 
funds  deposited  it  with  him.  He  was  a  straight- 


49 

forward  honest  man,  and  a  gentleman.  I  had  a 
good  many  business  transactions  with  him  while 
I  lived  in  Galena — later,  he  one  winter  invested 
largely  in  pork  packing  and  became  somewhat 
involved  and  quit  business. 

Henry  McNeal  who  occupied  the  old  McNeal 
place  for  many  years  near  Watertown  came  to 
this  country  at  quite  an  early  day  before  the  fam- 
ily occupied  the  old  homestead.  He  lived  among 
the  Northern  Indians  some  years,  leaving  his  east- 
ern home  when  a  boy.  He  was  a  shrewd  man,  a 
good  judge  of  character.  It  was  very  interesting 
to  him  to  tell  of  the  early  history  of  the  country 
and  of  his  many  adventures. 

Dennis  Warren  who  owned  the  two  corner  lots 
south  of  the  Opera  house  must  have  come  here  in 
1834,  as  he  entered  these  two  choice  lots  at  the 
county  commissioners'  sale  in  that  year,  paying  I 
think  $400  each  for  them  and  has  held  them  till 
now,  59  years.  I  have  heard  Rennah  Wells, who 
lived  near  Sears  mill  at  the  time  tell  how  he  ap- 
plied for  board  with  him,  and  wanted  a  cheap 
rate  as  he  did  not  care  to  have  anything  better 
than  crackers  and  milk.  He  must  have  brought 
some  money  with  him  from  New  York.  He  had 
quite  a  stock  of  cheap  jewelry  which  he  peddled 
about  without  any  liscense.  One  of  his  brothers 
with  whom  he  was  interested  had  a  stock  of  cloths 
and  satinets  which  he  offered  to  sell  to  the  people. 


50 

Not  having  a  merchant  liscense  some  of  our  deal- 
ers complained  of  his  violation  of  law.  He  was 
fined  I  think  $25.  Dennis  swore  vengeance 
against  the  town  and  said  he  would  hold  these 
two  lots  as  long  as  he  lived  and  he  kept  his  word. 
He  had  three  brothers,  one  of  them  had  a  store  in 
Platteville.  Wisconsin,  another  a  store  in  Dodge- 
ville,  and  another  was  doing  business  in  Prairie 
Du  Sac  in  1850.  They  were  shifting  around  very 
often.  Dennis  had  an  interest  with  one  of  them 
in  a  saw  mill  on  the  upper  Wisconsin.  Some- 
time in  the  fifties  I  held  a  claim  for  an  estate  for 
some  $800  against  a  man  engaged  in  trade  on  the 
Wisconsin.  Dennis  offered  to  exchange  his  inter- 
est in  his  town  then  called  New  York,  now  Lyons, 
the  site  of  which  he  then  owned  for  the  claim. 
He  laid  out  a  town  there  and  made  a  large  amount 
of  money  from  the  sale  of  lots.  He  made  no  im- 
provements himself  whatever.  He  was  a  hard, 
intensly  selfish  man.  t 

A  large  family  of  the  Drurys  lived  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  county,  they  seemed  to  be  very  fond  of 
litigation.  There  was  hardly  a  term  of  court 
held  but  what  they  had  one  or  more  suits  pend- 
ing. Some  of  these  suits  were  waged  against  the 
people  of  Illinois  City,  a  rival  town  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. This  town  was  started  by  old  Coleman 
and  a  Mr.  Klump,  both  from  Indiana  and  both 
hard  cases.  It  was  said  and  with  good  reason  that 
thieves  and  counterfeiters  often  made  this  place 
their  resort. 


51    - 

In  the  fall  of  i839  old  man  Coleman  came  to 
Rock  Island  and  invited  a  number  of  our  young 
men  to  come  down  and  attend  a  ball  at  the  hotel 
he  had  just  opened.  We  hired  a  four  horse  rig  of 
Henry  Powars  and  some  12  to  15  of  us  wentdown 
many  of  us  taking  guns  along  to  hunt  on  the  way. 
Our  old  friend  Tim  Babcock  took  along  his  fiddle 
and  clarionet  and  another  musician  went  along. 
Uncle  Joe  Con  way  wentdown  on  horseback.  Cole- 
man had  promised  to  invite  all  the  girls  of  the 
neighborhood  to  meet  us.  We  arrived  there  in 
good  season  and  had  our  supper. 

Soon  after  dark  the  musicians  took  their  places 
and  we  begun  to  look  for  the  girls  but  none  were 
visible,  instead  a  middle  aged  fat  woman  was  the 
only  woman  visible.  Some  of  the  boys  trotted 
her  out  a  few  times  and  it  after  degenerated  into 
what  is  called  a  stag  dance.  Tim  Babcock  play- 
ing the  riddle  and  calling  part  of  the  time.  The 
other  musician  calling  when  he  used  the  clarionet. 
The  gay  scene  was  lighted  up  by  two  or  three  tal- 
low candles.  There  was  a  bar  at  the  other  end  of 
the  room,  to  which  some  of  the  boys  resorted  oc- 
casionally. It  was  dimly  lighted;  a  tall  rough 
looking  customer  belonging  to  the  neighborhood 
went  behind  the  bar  and  drawing  a  huge  bowie 
knife  just  for  ugliness  refused  any  admittance. 
Our  genial  county  recorder,  W.  E.  Franklin  did 
not  like  to  have  his  liquid  rations  thus  summarily 
cut  otf^so  he  walked  up  to  the  front  of  the  bar 


52 

and  drawing  the  large  brass  key  of  his  office  from 
his  pocket  and  pointing  it  at  the  bully,  says  to 
him  "give  me  that  knife  or  I  will  blow  you  to 
h — — 1."  The  man  came  out  and  was  seized  by 
the  crowd  and  tumbled  out  of  doors,  and  then  the 
dance  went  on  through  the  long  dreary  night.  It 
had  commenced  raining  heavily  early  in  the  even- 
ing. Old  Joe  Con  way  not  liking  the  looks  of 
things  started  for  home  towards  night;  coming  to 
a  swollen  creek,  in  attempting  to  cross,  he  was 
washed  from  his  horse  and  floated  down  stream, 
caught  hold  of  some  willows  and  commenced 
hallowing  for  help.  Fortunately  someone  heard 
him  and  took  him  and  his  horse  in  for  the  night 
A  carpenter  by  the  name  of  Cook,  amused  himself 
in  one  end  of  the  room,  in  throwing  up  pump- 
kins from  a  pile,  and  saying,  "they  go  up  pump- 
kin and  come  down  squash."  I  went  to  bed  about 
12  o'clock,  in  the  room  overhead,  with  a  loose 
board  floor,  but  I  could  not  sleep,  I  never  shall 
forget  the  sound  of  Tim's  clarionet,  second,  as  the 
dance  went  on.  He  was  an  excellent  musician 
and  was  always  in  demand  at  all  the  balls  in  this 
section.  In  the  melee  in  ejecting  the  ruffian,  I  loan- 
ed Tim  my  rifle  pistol,  and  he  dropped  it  on  the 
floor;  it  was  captured  by  Illinois  City  people  and 
after  some  months  was  returned  to  me.  In  the 
morning  the  boys  had  their  arms  all  in  readiness 
to  repel  an  attack,  if  one  had  been  made,  as  was 
threatened  and  we  started  home;  a  more  disgusted 


53 

set  of  mortals  I  have  never  seen.  I  think  most  of 
us  ever  after  gave  this  hard  town  the  go  by,  I  have 
at  least,  as  I  have  not  been  there  since. 

At  Cordova,  a  number  of  the  Marshall  family 
resided,  some  three  or  four  brothers,  some  engaged 
in  trade,  and  some  in  farming.  This  was  the  best 
corn  raising  land  near  Cordova,  in  the  county, 
and  some  of  the  brothers  dealt  largely  in  that 
staple.  Almost  every  year  long  rows  of  cribs  of 
the  yellow  grain  were  seen  adjoining  the  town.' 
All  that  broad  sandy  prairie  lying  above  Cordova 
and  extending  up  to  the  head  of  theMeridocia  and 
east  to  the  line  of  Whiteside  County,  this  part  be- 
ing mosth7  a  marsh,  wasonce  the  bed  of  the  river, 
or  rather  of  a  large  lake,  before  the  Mississippi 
broke  through  the  chain  of  rocks  forming  the 
rapids.  Before  this  the  Mississippi  and  Rock 
river  formed  a  junction  at  the  present  outlet  of 
the  Meridocia.  A  portion  of  the  Mississippi  find- 
ing an  outlet  through  what  is  called  Pleasant  Val- 
ley. A  broad,  beautiful,  fertile  valley,  covered 
with  some  of  the  best  farms  in  the  country.  Soon 
after  the  Mississippi  broke  the  rocky  barrier,  all 
that  portion  of  the  county  from  Cordova  to  the 
mouth  of  Rock  river,  lying  between  the  two  rivers 
was  an  island. 

Rock  Island  City,  the  site  of  Black  Hawk's  vil- 
lage, near  the  Sears  mill  was  laid  off  into  lots  by 
Chas.  A.  Spring,  of  New  York.  He  lived  there  for 
a  few  years,  and  was  out  here  the  same  year  the 


54 

Sears  mill  was  built.  He  then  disposed  of  the 
land  he  owner  there,  to  D.  B.  Sears.  Daniel 
Webster,  who  had  an  interest  with  him  in  this 
incipient  beautiful  site  for  a  town.  The  water 
power  at  this  point  of  Rock  river  at  an  early  date 
attracted  attention,  and  the  grist,  saw  and  paper 
mills  and  a  large  distillery  were  put  in  operation, 
and  Milan  at  one  time  was  a  prosperous,  thriv- 
ing village.  Mr.  Johnson  erected  a  good  sub- 
stantial flour  mill,  and  for  sometime  done  a  pros- 
perous and  profitable  business,  and  the  mill  burn- 
ed down.  Jacob  Frysinger  erected  a  large  distill- 
ery during  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  The  owners 
of  the  two  paper  mills  got  into  litigation  which 
ended  in  disaster  to  all  concerned.  The  large 
brick  building  erected  for  the  manufacture  of 
watches  still  stands,  but  has  never  been  utilized. 
A  monument  of  duplicity  and  fraud  showing  how 
easily  men  are  deceived  by  rogues,  who  fraudu- 
lently hold  out  the  idea  of  large  profits.  The  large 
well  built  stone  grist  mills,  erected  by  D.  B.  Sears 
was  burned  down  a  few  years  ago.  The  dams 
built  across  the  branches  on  the  Milan  side  are 
all  gone.  The  substantial  one  built  by  Mr.  Sears, 
is  fast  going  to  decay.  The  only  enterprises 
started  in  this  neighborhood  in  recent  years,  that 
still  exist  are  the  paper  mill  and  the  cotton  fac- 
tory, both  owned  and  controlled  by  Rockford  cap- 
ital ;  unless  the  Sears  dam  is  soon  repaired, 
these  two  must  go  the  way  of  all  the  rest.  A  fa- 


55 

tality  seems  to  have  fallen  upon  every  enterprise 
undertaken  here  in  the  neighborhood  of  Black 
Hawk's  old  village.  There  is  no  better  water 
power  in  this  section  of  the  country,  or  one  more 
easily  improved,  and  controlled,  than  the  main 
or  north  side  of  the  river,  and  the  site  of  that  old 
Indian  village  for  beauty  of  scenery  stands  un- 
equalled, with  its  high  rolling  ground,  and  the 
beautiful  shady  groves  that  cover  the  hill  sides 
along  the  way  to  Rock  Island.  Perhaps  the  curse 
of  old  Black  Hawk  for  depriving  him  of  his  home 
rests  upon  this  s^pot.  The  city  of  Rock  Island, 
many  years  ago  seeing  the  necessity  for  securing 
the  trade  of  the  many  thriving  settlements  and 
colonieson  the  south  side  of  the  river,  (thissection 
being  the  main  source  from  which  to  draw  trade,) 
byar,  act  of  legislature,obiained  the  right  to  bridge 
Rock  river  and  its  branches,  and  to  collect  tolls 
for  the  same.  Much  of  the  south  end  of  the  road, 
from  Rock  Island  to  the  river,  was  very  sandy, 
and  some  years  ago  an  ordinance  was  passed,  auth- 
orizing the  constructing  of  a  macadam  end  grav- 
elled road.  Reynolds  &  Salpaugh  took  the  con- 
tract, and  put  in  a  good  substantial  road  bed,  at  a 
cost  of  $22,000  Large  appropriations  had  to  be 
made  nearly  every  year,  to  keep  the  bridge  in  re- 
pair, [t  is  quite  doubtful  if  the  large  outlay  that 
has  been  made  since  the  system  was  inaugurated, » 
counting  up  into  many  thousands  of  dollars, 
has  been  a  paying  investment  to  the  city.  The 


56 

tolls  collected  have  helped  somewhat  to  lighten 
the  heavy  outlay.  Many  attempts  have  been 
made  from  time  to  time  to  induce  the  county  to 
shoulder  the  burden,  but  without  avail. 

Mr.  D.  B.  Sears  may  well  be  called  the  founder 
of  Moliiie,  as  he  was  the  first  one  to  suggest  the 
idea  of  utilizing  the  water  power,  and  he  put  the 
idea  into  practical  effect,  by  building  a  dam,  in- 
venting and  using  materials  for  constructing  itr 
that  were  new  I  think,  but  have  since  been  large- 
ly put  to  practical  use  by  Jas.  B.  Eades  in  hisjet- 
ties  at  the  passes  at  New  Orleans,  and  by  the  Unit- 
ed States  in  constructing  wing  dams  to  concentrate 
the  water  of  sloughs  in  the  main  channel  of  the 
river.  His  plan  was  to  first  put  in  a  layer  of 
small  trees,  then  a  layer  of  rock  on  the  tops  of  the 
brush,  which  were  pointed  up  stream,  and  so  on 
until  the  dam  was  raised  to  the  requisite  height. 
Thus  making  a  strong  dam,  and  drift  of  sand  or 
earth  lodging  upon  it,  making  it  still  stronger. 
Such  a  dam  he  built  across  the  stream  near  where 
the  government  bridge  now  stands.  Permission 
was  obtained  of  the  government  to  erect  mills  on 
the  island  shore,  and  some  two  or  three  were  put 
up.  This  was  the  foundation  and  commencement 
of  the  prosperity  of  Moline  as  a  great  manufact- 
uring center.  The  water  power  grew  out  of  this 
nuclus,  and  old  man  Reed  was  the  first  one  who 
had  its  management.  It  afterwards  passed  into- 
the  wise  and  judicious  management  of  my  old 


57 

time  friend,  Charles  Atkinson,  who  remained  its 
manager  until  his  decease,  a  few  years  ago.  Among 
the  early  settlers  of  Moliue,  were  the  Hartsells  and 
Wells  families,  the  Hunton  brothers,  who  were 
connections  of  Mr.  Sears.  The  Edwards  family 
and  some  others  whose  names  I  do  not  recall. 
Later  in  1846  John  Deere,  Mr.  Hemm way,  Judge 
Gould,  S.  W.  Wheelock,  C.  K.Swann,all  of  whom 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  development  of  the 
various  manufacturing  enterprises  of  the  city. 

D.  B.  Sears  obtained  permission  of  the  govern- 
ment to  build  a  grist  mill  on  the  little  rocky 
island,  which  lies  near  the  head  of  rock  island, 
running  a  dam  across  the  narrow  inlet  that  flows 
between  the  two,  and  also  the  right  to  use  a  por- 
tion of  the  upper  part  of  the  main  island.  He 
put  up  a  good  substantial  grist  mill,  and  occu- 
pied it  for  many  years,  until  the  government 
wanted  to  use  the  whole  island.  This  small  island 
for  sometime  after  the  mill  was  built,  was  used  as 
the  only  landing  for  Moline,  for  boats  bound  up 
stream.  It  was  very  difficult  for  boats  to  land 
coming  down  stream,  owing  to  the  strong  current 
of  the  rapids. 

I  think  it  was  in  1867,  the  government  wishing 
to  have,  and  control  the  whole  island,  bought  out 
Mr.  Sears  claim  to  the  little  island,  and  a  number 
of  acres  at  the  upper  end.  Commissioners  were 
appointed,  who  awarded  Mr.  Sears  $112,000,  a 
magnificent  sum,  with  which  he  was  enabled  to 
buy  a  large  tract  of  land,  at,  and  around  the  Sears' 
mill,  and  to  build  the  grist  mill. 


58 
Rock  Island  from  1836  to  1841,  Moline  and  Vicinity. 

Passing  up  the  Mississippi  in  1834  to  1836,  but 
few  towns  were  seen.  On  the  Missouri  side  of  the 
river  were  Clarkesville,  Louisiana  and  Hannibal, 
— all  small  towns,  containing  from  400  to  600 
people,  not  thrifty  looking  at  all,  owing  to  the 
blight  of  slavery.  There  were  very  few  settle- 
ments along  the  line  of  the  river  on  the  eastern 
or  Illinois  side.  Quincy  was  quite  a  thriving 
town  with  an  energetic  go  ahead,  population  coin- 
ing mostly  from  the  New  England  states.  <Vt  the 
head  of  the  lower  rapids  a  small  goverment  post 
was  established  for  the  accommodation  of  a  regi- 
ment of  cavalry,  to  keep  the  Indians  in  check. 
Flint  Hills,  the  present  site  of  Burlington  was 
about  the  first  settlement  in  Iowa,  except  an  In- 
dian trading  establishment  atDubuque.  Musca- 
tine  then  called  vannettas  landing,  had  a  lew  scat- 
tering log  cabins.  Davenport  had  one  house  only 
in  1833,  belonging  to  Antonie  Leclair,  the  In- 
dian  interpreter  and  trader.  With  these  few  ex- 
ceptions, the  whole  country  from  St.  Louis  and 
Alton,  was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness.  Many 
points  here  and  there  along  the  river  were  very 
beautiful.  The  gentle  sloping  hills  at  the  head 
oi  the  rapids — the  present  site  of  the  far  famed 
Morrnan  City  of  Navou,  were  very  attractive.  But 
the  scenery  along  the  banks  of  the  Great  river 
from  MiNcatine  to  the  head  of  the  upper  rapids 


51) 

stands  unrivelled  for  beautiful,  picturesque,  scen- 
ery. As  you  come  up  the  river  and  approach  the 
present  site  of  Rock  Island  and  Davenport,  in  the 
center  between  the  two  sides  of  the  river,  Fort 
Armstrong,  with  its  white  walls  glistening  in  the 
sun,  occupying  all  the  front  part  of  the  rocky 
point  of  the  island  ;  looking  in  the  distance  like 
a  well  built  city  ;  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
the  sloping  beautiful  banks  covered  with  the  scrub 
oaks,  looking  in  the  distance  like  a  well  kept  apple 
orchard,  with  only  one  house  to  mar  the  beauty 
of  the  scene;  on  the  south  a  broad  smooth  prairie 
sweeping  around  from  Rock  river  to  the  present 
site  of  Moline;  in  the  distance  densly  wooded 
hills;  a  few  farm  houses  also  are  to  be  seen.  This 
is  a  faint  and  inadequate  description  of  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Davenport  and  Rock  Island  as  they 
appeared  to  me  in  1833. 

In  the  fall  of  1836  I  met  an  old  Galena  ac- 
quaintance John  S.  Miller  in  St.  Louis,  he  was 
in  St.  Louis  buying  goods  to  open  a  store  in 
Rock  Island,  then  called  Stevenson.  He  wished 
me  to  join  him  as  a  partner  in  business.  He  had 
considerable  capital,  and  my  knowledge  of  busi- 
ness was  to  offset  his  capital.  Unfortunately  as 
the  sequel  proved,  I  accepted  his  proposition,  leav- 
ing a  good  situation  in  St.  Louis.  I  came  up  to 
Rock  Island  and  started  in  business  with  him. 
He  was  a  man  with  a  violent  temper,  not  used 
to  business,  and  after  staying  with  him  two  years 


60     • 

we  desolved  partnership,  leaving  me  little  or  noth- 
ing, except  liabilities  amounting  to  $15,000,  for 
which,  I  was  holden.  He  dying  soon  after  the 
termination  of  the  partnership,  his  widow  who 
was  a  shrewd,  unscrupulous  woman,  through  the 
manipulations  of  a  corrupt  probate  judge,  who 
made  large  allowances  to  her  for  the  support  of 
herself  and  family,  I  was  left  to  settle  the  debts 
the  best  I  could  in  after  years,  after  I  left  Rock 
Island  for  Galena. 

The  original  town  of  Stevenson  was  laid  off  by 
the  county  commissioners  in  1834,  and  the  lots 
were  sold  at  public  sale  bringing  a  very  fair  price 
for  that  early  day, selling  from  $2  to  $400  each,  quite 
a  number  of  my  Galena  friends  invested  in  these 
lots.  The  site  was  considered  a  favorable  one  on 
account  of  its  situation  near  the  mouth  of  the 
beautiful  Rock  river.  This  river  it  was  confi- 
dently suppossed  would  prove  to  be  a  navigable 
stream,  at  least  as  far  as  Rockford,  150  miles  or 
more.  Among  the  principal  settlers  in  the  village 
were  John  W.  Spencer,  the  Cases,  Jonah,  Asahel 
and  Charles.  The  numerous  Wells  family,  who 
were  scattered  along  the  line  of  the  river,  com- 
mencing at  the  mouth  of  Rock  River,  settling 
alongat  different  points  at  Moline,  Hampton  and 
Port  Byron.  These  people  all  came  originally 
from  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and  were 
mostly  enterprising  men  and  good  citizens.  John 
W.  Spencer  took  a  leading  part  in  every  enterprise 


61 

for  the  upbuilding  of  the  town.  I  found  a  num- 
ber of  others  living  in  the  town  and  the  vicinity. 
Dr.  P.  Gregg,  William  Bell,  Wm.  Brooks,  Frazer 
Wilson,  David  Hawes  and  Ben  Goble,  the  last 
two  still  living  at  this  writing,  the  only  three  liv- 
ing of  all  who  were  here  or  in  this  vicinity  in 
1836. 

The  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  Rock  river  val- 
ley attracted  many  emigrants  from  the  older 
states  during  1836  and  1837,  and  a  number  of 
flourishing  colonies  were  started  in  Rock  Island/ 
Henry  and  Mercer  counties,  and  these  colonies 
were  all  naturally  tributary  to  Rock  Island.  These 
emigrants  all  brought  more  or  less  money  to  the 
country  and  trade  was  very  brisk  in  the  little 
town,  and  we  thought  the  prospect  was  good  for 
building  up  a  large  flourishing  city.  A  number 
of  new  business  houses  were  opened,  and  all  were 
doing  well.  The  town  was  full  of  enterprising 
young  men,  who  would  compare  very  favorably 
with  any  that  we  have  at  this  time.  New  addi- 
tions were  being  laid  off,  and  town  lots  were  sell- 
ing briskly  at  good  prices.  In  1837  the  court 
house  was  built  on  the  beautiful  public  square,  and 
we  all  lent  a  hand  in  setting  out  the  trees  in  the 
square,  many  of  them  still  survive.  The  large  trees 
still  standing  in  the  South  west  corner  of  the  square 
Wm.  E.  Franklin  and  myself  dug  up  on  Credit 
Island,  and  brought  them  over  in  a  skiff  and  set 
them  out.  There  have  been  some  additions  made 


62 

to  the  buildings  on  the  square  in  later  years, 
and  our  county  commissioners  are  talking  of 
erecting  a  new  and  more  costly  structure  perhaps 
on  the  old  site  or  at  some  point  near  the  dividing 
line  between  Molineand  Rock  Island.  Davenport 
built  a  court  house  the  same  year,  of  about  the 
same  cost  and  size,  but  that  was  torn  down  some 
years  ago  and  a  much  larger  one  has  taken  its 
place. 

In  1837  and  1838  the  state  commenced  a  most 
extravagant  system  of  improvments  all  over  the 
state,  improving  interior  rivers — building  rail- 
roads, and  among  the  rest,  an  attempt  to  make 
Rock  river  a  navigable  stream  by  improving  the 
rapids  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  rapids 
at  Sterling,  Work  was  commenced  on  Van- 
druff's  Island,  a  hundred  or  more  men  were  em- 
ployed in  digging  nearly  opposite  the  Sears  mill. 
Some  remains  of  the  ditch  are  still  to  be  seen.  No 
part  of  this  work  is  being  utilized  by  the  present 
canal,  as  it  takes  a  new  and  entirely  different 
route.  Whether  the  present  will  ever  be  completed 
is  a  matter  of  doubt,  at  any  Fate  many  years  will 
come  and  go  before  its  final  completion.  At  pres- 
ent a  large  force  of  men  are  employed  on  this 
work.  The  employment  thus  afforded  the  labor- 
ing men  of  Rock  Island,  while  the  work  is  going 
on  in  this  neighborhood  is  about  all  the  direct 
benefit  Rock  Island  will  ever  receive  from  it.  The 
contractors  who  were  employed  on  this  old  canal 


63 

were  paid  in  state  script.  This  evidence  of  state 
indebtedness  at  first  passed  at  50  per  cent,  dis- 
count, before  fall  it  was  difficult  to  pass  it  at  25 
cents  on  the  dollar.  The  great  scheme  for  mak- 
ing state  improvements  suddenly  collapsed.  It 
was  but  a  bubble,  at  last  state  bank  paper  became 
almost  worthless.  Then  state  banks  encouraged 
by  the  policy  inaugurated  by  the  Jackson  regime, 
making  state  banks  depository  of  the  government 
funds,  encouraging  speculation  all  over  the  coun- 
try, every  body  was  going  to  be  rich,  speculating 
in  town  lots.  All  sorts  of  wild  visionary  schemes 
were  started,  honest  labor  was  at  a  discount.  Only 
four  or  five  years  before  what  a  different  state  of 
affairs  existed.  The  United  States  bank  with  its 
various  branches  was  making  exchanges  for  all 
parts  of  the  Union  at  a  small  premium,  its  paper 
was  good  every  where,  business  was  on  a  stable 
basis.  ^Then  Jackson  commenced  his  onslaught 
on  the  bank  with  all  the  power  of  the  government 
at  his  back.  A  man  without  any  knowledge  of 
statesmanship,  a  strong  willed  vindictive  man, 
having  his  own  way,  by  the  eternal.  A  man  aside 
from  his  qualities  as  a  soldier,  wholly  unfit  for 
the  position  in  which  he  was  placed  by  the  people 
as  president.  Like  a  wild  bull  in  a  china  shop, 
he  tore  around  with  lawless  force,  only  a  destruc- 
tive force.  The  damage  he  done  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  country  financially  and  politically  for 
many  years  can  hardly  be  estimated.  He  and 


64 

that  Mephistopoles,  Martin  Van  Buren,  foisted 
upon  us  that  most  pernicious  system.  "To  the 
victor  belongs  the  spoils."  Before  this,  men  who 
held  office  under  the  government  were  retained 
right  along  as  under  former  administrations  pro- 
vided they  were  faithful  and  honest.  The  Demo- 
cratic policy  under  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  has 
continued  to  produce  a  crop  of  swartouts  some- 
times anually,  sometimes  oftener.  Old  Hickory 
missed  what  might  have  been  the  one  redeeming 
act  of  his  life,  when  he  threatened  to  hang  John 
C.  Calhoun.  the  arch  traitor  of  secession  and  did 
not  fulfill  his  threat.  The  people  of  this  new 
western  country,  when  this  financial  bubble  burst 
directly  traceable  to  the  overthrow  of  the  United 
States  bank  by  old  Hickory,  found  themselves  in 
a  sad  predicament.  Nearly  all  the  currency  in 
circulation  was  almost  worthless.  What  was  call- 
ed good  to-day  was  found  to  be  worthless  to- 
morrow. All  business  was  paralized.  The  far- 
mers in  this  section  had  just  begun  to  raise  quite 
a  surplus,  but  there  was  no  market.  Wheat  was 
nominally  35  cents,  and  corn  10  cents  per  bushel. 
Most  of  the  outlying  colonies  who  had  been  doing 
their  trading  in  Rock  Island  had  expended  all 
their  ready  means  in  improving  their  farms  and 
what  surplus  they  had  they  could  not  sell  or  ship. 
The  merchants  had  large  amounts  outstanding 
which  they  could  not  collect.  Everything  was 
dead,  at  a  standstill.  If  any  building  was  done 


65 

.at  all  it  was  done  by  a  system  of  exchanges,  swap- 
ping some  one  thing  for  another,  without  any 
money  in  the  transaction.  This  state  of  affairs 
continued  for  some  time,  until  about  1843,  and 
the  town  grew  very  slowly.  Quite  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  people  went  to  Galena  and  staying  a 
while,  and  earning  a  little  money  in  their  various 
occupations,someofthem  returned  to  Rock  Island. 
Wm.  L.  Lee,  Jerre  Chamberlain,  H.  C.  Harkelr- 
hodes,  and  some  others  whose  names  I  forget  went 
there.  In  1840  the  people  of  the  whole  count 
became  tired  and  disgusted  with  the  Democratic  -J) 
rule  and  the  election  of  that  year  resulted  in  the 
election  of  Gen.  Harrison  and  Tyler.  Monster 
meetings  were  held  all  over  the  country.  The 
largest  political  gathering  we  have  ever  had  was 
held  in  Rock  Island,  and  many  eminent  speakers 
were  here  from  abroad.  Among  them  I  recollect 
John  Hogan,  one  of  the  most  eloquent  stump  ora- 
tors I  ever  heard.  He  afterwards  settled  in  St. 
Louis  and  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  for 
two  terms.  I  met  him  in  St.  Louis  at  the  cham- 
ber of  commerce  in  1890  and  had  a  long  talk  with 
him  on  old  time  subjects.  During  these  hard 
times  the  country  was  overrun  with  lawless  char- 
acters, horse  thieves  and  counterfeiters,  and  oc- 
casionally we  had  to  resort  to  lynch  law  to 
rid  ourselves  of  them.  A  desperado  from  Iowa 
came  into  the  town  and  robbed  a  boy  of  a  few 
dollars.  He  was  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  old 


66 

log  jail.  It  was  some  three  or  four  months  before 
a  session  of  the  court  would  be  held  to  try  him. 
So  we  concluded  we  would  give  him  a  trial  by 
Judge  Lynch.  The  jailer,  Thorn  as  Spencer  made 
no  resistance,  so  we  started  with  him  for  the  bluffs, 
Tim  Babcock  and  myself  locked  arms  with  him. 
When  we  got  to  the  slough,  which  then  had  only 
one  narrow  passway  over  it,  he  took  to  themuddy 
slough,  soon  breaking  away  from  Tim  and  me. 
He  was  however  caught  on  the  other  side  and  tak- 
en to  the  bluffs.  Seven  of  us  were  appointed  to 
give  him  seven  cuts  with  a  rawhide  on  the  back. 
I  recollect  Ben  Cobb  and  Ben  Goble  laid  the  rod 
on  with  all  their  might,  Ben  Goble  is  still  living 
an  old  man  of  81. 

Another  instance.  A  young  fellow  was  arrested 
for  try  ing  to  pass  five  dollar  counterfeit  gold  pieces. 
He  had  quite  a  quantity  of  them  in  his  possession, 
they  were  a  miserable  immitation  of  the  genuine. 
We  took  him  out  to  the  woods,  more  to  make  him 
tell  who  were  his  confederates  than  anything  else. 
He  gave  us  a  number  of  namesj  fictitious  probably r 
as  we  knew  none  of  the  persons  named.  The 
counterfeit  money  was  taken  from  him.  He  was 
admonished  to  go  and  sin  no  more. 

One  Sunday  morning  a  man  coming  down 
Rock  River  early  in  the  morning,  and  coming  up 
to  Rock  Island  by  way  of  one  of  the  sloughs  dis- 
covered two  skiffs  moored  to  the  shore,  and  some 
goods  hanging  on  the  trees.  He  reported  it  to- 


us.  We  had  heard  the  day  before  that  a  store  had 
been  robbed  at  Comanche.  We  started  with  a 
number  of  skiffs,  well  loaded  with  men  who  were 
ripe  for  the  adventure.  Some  of  us  left  our  boats 
at  the  head  of  the  slough,  and  two  went  down  to 
the  mouth  of  Rock  River  to  head  off  the  thieves. 
We  all  started  on  the  keen  run,  and  saw  the  trees 
strung  with  bolts  of  calico  and  clothing.  I  was 
fleet  of  foot  and  arrived  first,  just  in  time  to  see 
the  two  thieves  breaking  for  Rock  River.  One  of 
them  seized  a  pair  of  pants  as  he  left.  It  had  been 
raining  heavily  the  night  before  and  they  stopped 
in  order  to  dry  their  plunder.  By  the  time  the 
two  men  reached  the  river,  the  boats  were  there 
ready  to  capture  them.  The  one  with  the  pants 
attempted  to  swim  the  river  with  the  pan tsaround 
his  neck  and  would  have-  drowned  if  the  men 
in  the  boats  had  not  rescued  him.  The  goods 
were  brought  to  town  and  left  in  the  store  of 
Andrews  &  McMaster.  The  old  brick  store,  the 
first  of  the  kind  in  Rock  Island  is  still  in  exist- 
ance  just  east  of  the  court  house. 

The  thieves  were  taken  over  to  Iowa  and  had 
a  trial,  were  convicted,  and  while  in  charge  of  the 
sheriff  on  their  way  to  the  penitentiary  at  Musca- 
tine,  made  their  escape. 

John  Wilson  came  here  from  New  Hampshire 
and  obtained  a  grant  for  a  ferry  across  the  river. 
Judge  John  W.  Spencer,  who  married  his  daugh- 
ter for  his  second  wife,  afterwards  became  inter- 


68 

ested  with  him,  and  some  years  after  Capt.  T.  J. 
Robinson  obtained  an  interest.  The  ferry  was 
always  very  well  kept,  and  in  after  years  be- 
came remunerative  to  the  owners.  Many  attempts 
were  made  at  different  times  to  annul  the  char- 
ters obtained  in  Iowa  and  Illinois,  but  without 
success.  Capt.  Robinson  who  for  many  years  has 
had  control,  an  adroit  manager,  always  succeeded 
in  retaining  the  charter  intact.  Even  after  the 
government  and  the  Rock  Island  railroad  built  the 
great  free  bridge  it  has  still  remained  a  good  pay- 
ing stock,  being  run  across  the  river  near  the  cen- 
ter of  the  two  cities  of  Davenport  and  Rock  Island. 
The  defunct  town  of  Rockingham  was  started 
in  Iowa  opposite  the  mouth  of  Rock  river  in  1836. 
It  was  supposed  that  this  beautiful  river  would 
prove  to  be  a  navigable  stream,  and  some  three 
or  four  small  steamers  were  built  for  this  trade. 
The  Harris  boys  built  the  Frontier,  a  very  fine 
draft  boat,  and  made  one  trip  up  the  river  as  far 
asRockford  during  high  water  in  the  spring.  This 
boat  was  the  first  one  to  land  at  the  present  ferry 
landing,  boats  having  landed  before  at  what  was 
called  lower  town,  just  below  the  Q  depot.  The 
water  was  very  shoal  there  and  our  enterpris- 
ing citizen,  Henry  Powars,  built  a  wharf  boat  on 
which  the  boats  could  land.  Spencer  and  Case 
the  owners  of  their  addition  to  the  upper  part  of 
the  city  deeded  the  corner  lot  on  first  street  near 
the  present  ferry  landing  toSmith&R.  S.  Harris. 


69 

I  sold  this  lot  for  them  to  Jacob  Riley  in  1867  for 
$2,600,  80  by  160  feet.  Another  steamer  called  the 
Rock  River  was  built  by  a  Hungarian  Count  at 
some  point  above  Rockford,  called  Matzalan.  He 
brought  the  boat  down  the  river  and  run 
her  on  the  Mississippi.  The  count  settled  at 
Prairie  Du  Sac  on  the  Wisconsin  river.  After- 
wards Rockingham  was  laid  off  by  Jc  hn  H.  Sul- 
ivan,  a  man  full  of  energy  and  enterprise.  He 
built  and  opened  the  first  store  in  Rock  Island, 
the  one  that  was  afterwards  occupied  by  Miller 
&  McMaster.  Sulivan  put  up  a  saw  and  grist 
mill  and  induced  a  number  of  men  of  enterprise 
and  means  to  settle  in  the  incipient  town  :  two 
Davenport  Bros..  H.  B.  Brown  and  Sargent,  after- 
wards of  the  firm  of  Cook  &  Sargent,  Mr.  Sar- 
gent was  afterwards  interested  in  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific railroad,  and  laid  out  a  part  of  the  city  of  Du- 
luth  and  the  town  of  London,  lying  just  north  on 
ground  gently  sloping  to  the  Great  Lake.  A  num- 
ber of  stores  were  erected,  and  a  very  fair  com- 
mencement was  made  for  a  prosperous  town.  The 
county  seat  of  Scott  county  was  located  there  one 
season  by  importing  voters  from  Dubuque,  it  was 
stated.  The  next  year  there  was  another  contest 
for  county  seat  between  Rockingham  and  Daven- 
port, in  which  Davenport  won  the  victory  by  a 
handsome  majority,  that  majority  was  made  up 
largely  by  imported  votes  from  Rock  Island. 
Rockingham  imported  a  good  many  from  Dubu- 


70 

que,  but  not  enough  to  win  the  day.  We  then 
considered  the  town  at  the  mouth  of  Hock  river 
to  be  a  much  stronger  rival  than  Davenport.  One 
main  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  new  town  was 
its  situation  on  low  flat  ground,  subject  to  over- 
flow nearly  every  year.  A  party  of  us  went  down 
in  skiffs  one  season  when  the  water  was  very  high. 
We  hitched  our  skiffs  to  the  porch  of  the  hotel 
which  stood  on  the  highest  ground  in  the  town. 
In  about  1838  Davenport  commenced  to  fill  up. 
Antonie  Leclaire  had  been  living  theresome years 
and  had  a  large  grant  of  land  from  the  Indians, 
as  well  as  one  at  Leclaire  at  the  head  of  the  rapids. 
Among  the  first  settlers  were  I).  C.  Eldridge,  who 
was  I  think  the  first  postmaster;  the  Cook  broth- 
ers, John  Forrest  and  his  brother-in-law,  Dillon, 
the  father  of  Judge  Dillon.  John  Forrest  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Eldridge  as  postmaster.  Judge  Mit- 
chell, who  married  a  sister  of  George  Davenport's 
wife,  Samuel  Parker  and  Frazier  Wilson,  now  of 
Rock  Island  and  at  this  writing  is  still  living. 
Antonie  Leclair  and  Col.  Davenport,  who  lived 
on  the  Island,  owned  most  of  the  town  site,  and 
were  very  liberal  in  their  terms  for  lots  to  all  who 
wished  to  invest,  This  and  the  beautiful  site,  un- 
equalled by  any  other  on  the  great  river,  together 
with  the  rich  fertile  soil  of  Scott  county, all  of  which 
tributary  to  the  young  city,  give  it  a  decided  ad- 
vantage, over  its  neighbor  across  the  river.  So 
much  for  Davenport  in  olden  time  she  has  kept 


71 

steadily  advancing  in  growth  and  prosperity  and 
now  has  a  population  of  about  35,000.  the  second 
-city  in  population  in  the  state. 

The  first  school  we  had  of  any  kind  in  Rock 
Island  was  a  private  one,  opened  by  a  Mr.  Hum- 
mer a  bigotted  tyranical  old  time  calyinist.  He 
required  and  expected  his  pupils  to  obey  his  be- 
hests both  in  and  out  of  school  hours.  There 
was  to  be  a  dance  in  a  few  days  and  he  forbid  the 
young  ladies  to  attend.  Some  three  or  four  of 
them  went  notwithstanding  he  told  them  they 
must  not.  He  asked  one  of  them,  Henrietta, 
Judge  Garnsey's  daughter,  if  she  went  to  the  ball, 
"'I  did"  she  said.  "Take  your  books  and  go  home, 
Miss  Garnsey,"  he  said.  She  was  a  proud  spirited 
girl  and  felt  very  indignant  at  the  insult  put 
upon  her,  and  as  she  went  with  the  books  in  her 
arms  she  threw  one  of  them  at  the  reverend 
gentleman,  hitting  him  on  the  head.  That  night 
an  indignation  meeting  was  held  by  the  young 
men  who  called  on  the  preacher  and  gave  him 
just  three  days  to  pack  up  and  leave.  He  left! 
I  think  there  was  no  systematic  endeavor  to  found 
public  schools  before  1844,  during  this  interim 
my  old  time  friend,  Gen.  C.  C.  Washburn,  of  Wis- 
consin, taught  a  private  school.  During  the  time 
lie  was  here  he  was  appointed  county  surveyor  by 
the  county  commissioners  to  take  the  place  of 
Gglesby,  who  I  think  resigned  or  died.  He  went 
from  here  to  Mineral  point,  Wisconsin,  awd  open- 


72 

ed  a  bank  with  Cyrus  Woodman,  a  bank  that  al- 
ways paid  specia  on  demand  for  its  notes.  He 
went  into  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  Had  com- 
mand of  the  forces  that  attempted  to  open  the 
Yazzo  river  during  the  seige  of  Vicksburg.  Came 
out  of  the  war  a  major  general,  was  elected  a  sen- 
ator, and  afterwards  governor  of  his  state,  leaving 
at  his  death  large  bequests  to  the  state  for  edu- 
cational and  scientific  subjects.  A  broad  minded 
liberal  man,  the  peer  of  his  brother,  E.  B.  Wash- 
burn. 

About  this  time  Elton  Cropper  and  one  or  two 
others  made  an  effort  to  open  public  schools,  but 
they  were  bitterly  opposed  by  some  of  our  well- 
to-do  citizens,  who  ought  to  have  helped  them 
along,  instead  of  opposing.  Some  years  later  my 
old  time  friend,  George  Mexter,  obtained  a  spec- 
ial charter  from  the  state  organizing  the  Rock  Is- 
land school  district.  Vesting  in  a  board  of 
five  directors  power  to  appoint  teachers,  to  levy 
all  necessary  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  schools, 
and  to  annex  any  contiguous  territory  on  petition. 
An  excellent  charter  under  which  the  schoolsare 
still  running.  Mr.  Mexter  took  active  interest  in 
the  public  schools  some  years  as  director  and  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  The  system  gradually  devel- 
oped until  at  the  present  we  have  six  large  well 
constructed  brick  school  houses,  with  8 to  12  rooms 
each  with  a  corps  of  some  45  teachers  under  the 
control  and  management  of  our  efficient  superin- 


73 

tendent,  8.  S.  Kemble.  I  would  mention  as  a  per- 
sonal matter  that  I  have  acted  as  a  director  and 
president  of  the  board  some  10  or  12  years,  dur- 
ing my  residence  here  since  1866,  and  now  in  my 
old  age,  I,  in  order  to  keep  and  feel  young,  still 
visit  the  schools  often,  and  frequently  go  out  with 
the  children  of  the  schools  in  my  neighborhood 
into  the  woods  in  the  spring  and  fall  and  always 
enjoy  the  trip. 

We  had  a  debating  society  made  up  mostly  of 
the  young  men  of  the  town;  ofthose  taking  a  lead- 
ing part  in  the  debates  were  George  Mexter,  who 
is  still  living,  Joe  Wells  who  was  afterwards 
elected  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  state;  he  was 
very  eloquent,  a  genuine  orator  in  subjects  that  in- 
terested him,  Dr.  Gregg,  Wm.  E.  Franklin,  John 
W.  Spencer,  myself  and  J.  Bernard  Smith  occa- 
sionally participated  in  the  debates.  One  of  the 
topics  of  debate  was,  "has  the  Negro  race  received 
more  harm  from  the  Whites  than  the  Indians." 
Friend  Mexter,  I  recollect  gave  a  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  high  state  of  civilization  of  the  Negro 
race  in  early  times  in  Northern  Africa,  and  the 
terrible  crime  the  Whites  committed  in  enslaving 
them  in  after  years.  He  was  answered  that  the 
people  inhabiting  Northern  Africa  did  not  belong 
to  the  negro  race,  but  were  Moors  and  Berbers. 
That  the  Indian  race  in  America  had  been  by 
the  cruelty  and  greed  of  the  whites,  decimated 
and  nearly  swept  from  the  earth  in  both  North 
and  South  America. 


74 

Quite  a  large  number  of  our  population  at  this 
time  came  from  Pennsylvania,  some  few  from 
Kentucky.  The  first  from  this  state  was  Col. 
Buford  the  father  of  Gen.  N.  B.  Buford,  Thomas, 
John  and  James.  N.  B.  Buford  took  an  active 
part  in  the  Civil  war,  and  distinguished  himself 
in  the  battle  of  Belmont,  where  Gen.  Grant  was 
first  brought  into  notice.  Gen.  John  Buford  was 
a  distinguished  cavalry  commander  in  the  army 
of  the  Potomac.  The  father,  Col  Buford.  was  a 
large  powerful  man,  rough  in  manner,  but  genial, 
a  great  admirer  of  the  new  city  of  his  adoption, 
which  he  called,  Xew  Jerusalem.  He  built  the 
first  store  on  the  levee,  a  small  frame  structure 
with  a  very  high  square  front,  gorgeously  paint- 
ed to  imitate  granite.  One  day  he  was  out  in  the 
front  looking  at  it.  He  says,  this  building  looks 
like  a  man  clothed  in  a  ruffled  shirt  and  nothing 
else.  He  and  myself  were  the  first  town  trustees. 
About  the  only  work  I  recollect  we  had  done  was 
to  commence  a  ditch  to  drain  the  slough  back  of 
the  town.  The  money  to  do  the  work  was  raised 
mostly  from  private  sources,  very  little  efficient 
work  was  done  on  this  much  needed  improve- 
ment for  many  years  after.  Under  Mayor,  E.  P. 
Reynolds'  administration  some  fifteen  years  ago,  a 
large  substantial  sewer  was  commenced  and  fin- 
ished atthe  river  embracing  some  fiveor  six  blocks 
and  finally -completed  at  this  time  to  the  head  of 
the  low  ground  in  the  slough.  When  the  finan- 


75 

cial  collapse  of  1837  struck  and  -paralyzed  the 
whole  country,  as  I  have  said  before,  all  improve- 
ment was  at  a  stand  still  for  a  number  of  years 
in  Rock  Island,  very  little  addition  to  the  popula- 
tion was  made  for  sometime.  One  of  our  enter- 
prising citizens,  Henry  Fowars  built  the  old  Rock 
Island  house  which  was  very  well  kept  at  first  by 
himself  and  afterwards  by  our  old  friend,  David 
Haws,  who  was  a  model  landlord,  setting  a  good 
table,  and  his  energetic  wife  always  seeing  to  the 
kitchen  department.  It  was  kept  for  a  number  of 
years  after  by  B.  and  I.  Vancourt.  There  were  two 
other  small  hotels,  one  was  kept  by  Mr.  Butfam, 
the  father  of  a  number  of  boys  <imong  whom  was 
John  Buffam,  for  a  long  time  county  commission- 
er from  Adalusia.  The  Butfam  house  was  on  the 
south  side  of  the  street  opposite  the  court  house. 
Old  man  Ben  tie  y  kept  the  other  on  sixteenth 
street  near  the  river. 

Joseph  Knox,  George  Mexter,  Judge  Drury, 
Samuel  Andrews  and  Ben  Gobi)  came  here  in 
1837.  Old  Joe  Con  way  was  clerk  of  the  court, 
magistrate  and  postmaster.  He  and  his  brother 
Miles  came  here  from  Madison  county,  111.  The 
principal  place  of  resort  for  many,  was  Cobb's 
saloon.  Joe  Knox  and  old  JoeConway  were  gen- 
erally very  regular  attendants  there,  always  en- 
gaged in  playing  euchre  for  the  drinks,  when  they 
could  induce  anyone  to  play  with  them.  Joseph 
Knox  was  a  very  talented  and  brilliant  lawyer,  a 


76 

finished  orator.  He  might  have  taken  a  leading 
part  in  the  politics  of  the  state,  but  for  his  disso- 
lute habits.  He  moved  to  Chicago  many  years 
ago,  and  died  there.  We  had  a  number  of  noted 
quaint  characters  here:  Judge  Garnsey  and  his 
son,  Charles,  the  judge  was  formerly  a  member 
of  congress  in  the  state  of  New  York,  they  both 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  Harrison  campaign  of 
1840  and  were  rewarded  by  being  appointed  as 
receiver  and  register  for  the  land  office  at  Dixon; 
Old  man  Naylor,  who  had  a  store  and  started  the 
first  distillery  just  below  the  Barnes  estate's  prop- 
erty. He  was  the  butt  and  laughing  stock  ofthe 
whole  town  and  people  were  always  playing  jokes 
upon  him.  One  of  them  was  this,  he  married  a 
young  wife  of  16.  On  the  night  of  his  marriage, 
after  he  and  his  young  wife  had  retired,  a  dele- 
gation went  to  his  house  and  called  him  out.  They 
took  him  to  the  Rock  Island  house  and  made  him 
order  a  basket  of  champaign  for  the  crowd.  Keep- 
ing him  in  his  shirt  and  drawers  until  near  morn- 
ing. One  day  when  he  was  traveling  in  a  steam- 
boat, the  boat  being  somewhat  crowded,  his  state 
room  was  in  the  ladies  cabin.  After  dinner  the 
day  being  warm  he  went  to  his  room  disrobing 
all  but  hisshirtand  drawers.  Some  of  his  waggish 
friends  took  a  bucket  of  water  and  throwing  it  on 
him,  those  outside  the  door  raised  the  cry,  "The 
boat  is  sinking!"  "The  boat  is  sinking!"  This 
aroused  him  from  his  slumbers  and  he  rushed 


77 

out  among  the  ladies,  only  to   find  that  another 
joke  had  been  played  upon  him. 

In  the  fall  of  1839,  Mr.  Andrews  and  myself 
bought  quite  a  large  stock  of  goods  in  St.  Louis 
which  were  shipped  quite  late,  as  the  winter  set 
in  early  in  November.  Some  of  the  goods  only 
got  as  far  as  Hamburgh,  but  most  of  them  were 
stored  at  Louisiana,  Mo.,  by  the  clerk  of  the  boat, 
my  old  friend  Capt.  D.  N.  Dawley.  He  was 
one  the  most  efficient  and  reliable  clerks  on  the 
river  and  served  on  a  number  of  boats  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  I  went  down  to  Louisiana  in 
December,  rented  a  store  and  sold  quite  a  quan- 
tity of  the  stock,  with  a  portion  of  the  goods  I  load- 
ed up  three  ox  teams,  and  Ben  Cobbtook  charge 
of  the  teams  for  Rock  Island.  Early  in  March  I 
started  for  Rock  Island,  coming  by  boat  to  Keo- 
kuk  and  from  there  on  horseback,  rather  an  un- 
pleasant ride,  the  weather  was  raw  and  cold.  We 
found  that  we  had  a  rather  large  stock  of  high 
priced  goods  on  hand,  and  concluded  to  try  a  ven- 
ture on  Rock  river.  We  bought  a  small  keel  boat  of 
about  50  tons,  loaded  her  up  mostly  with  grocer- 
ies with  a  crew  of  two  men,  myself  as  clerk  or 
supercargo,  and  Ben  Cobb  as  captain.  We  left 
town  and  got  along  fine  until  we  struck  the  rap- 
ids just  below  Sears  mill.  We  tried  to  get  over 
all  one  day  without  any  success.  About  one  hun- 
dred men  were  there  at  work  on  the  canal  near 
by,  and  I  hired  a  number  of  them  to  help  us  over. 


They  took  hold  each  side  of  the  boat  and  lifted  us 
over,  it  took  all  one  day,  and  then  we  went  on  our 
way  rejoicing,  landing  near  night  just  above  and 
opposite  Carrs  ferry.  When  we  got  here  we  found 
our  boat  was  leaking  badly,  and  we  had  to  keep 
the  pumps  going  nearly  all  night.  There  was 
considerable  wind  blowing  and  we  werelyingon  a 
muddy  bottom.  The  mud  and  the  soaking  of 
the  water  stopped  the  seams,  and  we  had  very 
little  trouble  after  with  a  leaky  boat.  Stopping 
along  the  river  wherever  there  was  a  settlement 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  people,  we  came  to 
the  Sterling  rapids,  but  had  no  difficulty  in  get- 
ting over  them.  We  stopped  at  Portland,  lying 
a  short  distance  below  Prophetstown  some  two 
weeks,  as  here  we  found  a  large  settlement  of  well- 
to-do  farmers,  with  whom  we  opened  a  brisk 
trade.  Here  I  became  acquainted  with  I.D.  Seely 
an  enterprising  go  ahead  man,  much  respected  in 
that  section  of  the  country.  Just  above  Portland 
I  found  a  son  of  Professor  Dwight,  of  Harvard 
college.  He  had  a  large  beautiful  farm  in  agreat 
bend  of  the  river,  a  very  comfortable  good  sized 
log  house.  1  took  dinner  with  him  in  his  bach- 
elor quarters,  and  found  him  to  be  a  very  agree- 
able cultivated  gentleman.  Some  years  later  I 
met  a  man  who  was  his  foreman  on  the  farm,  at 
the  time  I  was  there.  I  met  him  on  the  line  of 
the  North  Missouri  railroad,  he  was  a  regular  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  York  Tribune  at  the  time. 


79 

In  talking  about  Mr.  Jhvight  he  told  me  that  on 
one  Sunday  morning  he  found  Dvvight  dressed  up 
in  his  best,  with  white  kid  gloves  walking  up  and 
down  on  his  porch.  He  asked  him  what  he  was 
dressed  up  for,  as  there  was  no  one  to  see  him. 
His  reply  was  "God  sees  me,"  that  is  enough.  We 
stopped  some  time  at  Dixon,quitea  thrivingtown 
with  a  number  of  stores.  Henry  and  My  res  F. 
Truett,  two  of  my  Galena  friends  in  after  years 
had  a  store  here.  The  town  was  named  after  Mr. 
Dixon  the  first  settler,  and  who  owned  and  run  a 
ferry  for  many  yea'rs  there.  A  short  distance 
above  we  came  to  Grand  De  Tour,  found  a  narrow 
canal  cut  across  the  great  bend  of  the  river  form- 
ing a  good  water  power,  and  a  grist  and  saw  mill 
in  operation.  Quite  a  number  of  Moline  friends 
came  from  there,  John  Deere,  Mr.  Hemmway  and 
a  number  of  others  came  to  Moline  a  few  years 
after.  We  made  our  slow  toilsome  way  up  the 
river  as  far  as  Rockford.  Whenever  we  came  to 
swift  water  which  occurred  quite  often,  we  had 
all  to  take  a  hand  at  the  setting  poles.  At  one 
place  below  Rockford  we  found  the  current  so 
swift  we  could  not  stem  it.  So  we  hired  an  old 
horse  to  help  us  over  with  a  towline,  but  the  cur- 
rent proved  too  strong  for  the  horse,  the  boat 
striking  a  strong  current  commenced  drifting 
down  stream,  throwing  the  horse  on  his  side  un- 
til he  came  to  a  rocky  ledge  and  acting  as  an  an- 
chor the  boat  was  stopped. 


80 

Rockford  at  this  time  had  some  1,500  to  2,000 
people  a  beautiful  thriving  town,  with  an  improv- 
ed water  power.  We,  of  course  could  do  nothing 
here,  so  we  turned  our  bow  down  streams.  This 
trip  satisfied  me  that  Rock  river  could  not  be  suc- 
cessfully navigated  by  steam  boats  unless  a  large 
amount  of  money  was  spent  in  improving  the 
navigation.  Our  venture  was  not  a  very  profi- 
table one,  but  still  we  did  not  lose  any  money, 
and  sold  off  our  surplus  of  goods.  This  whole 
Rock  River  valley  was  so  beautiful,  with  groves  of 
timber  scattered  all  along  its  banks  and  rich  gen- 
tly rolling  prairies  that  it  attracted  more  atten- 
tion and  drew  a  larger  and  better  class  of  popula- 
tion at  this  early  day  than  any  other  part  of  the 
state.  In  the  spring  of  1840  I  married  my  wife, 
the  daughter  of  Wm.  Brooks,  who  came  from 
Northern  New  Hampshire  in  the  fall  of  1835  com- 
ing all  the  way  with  his  wife  and  three  children: 
Wm.  E,  George  and  Jeannette,  in  acarriage,  and 
sending  their  household  goods  round  by  New 
Orleans.  They  came  here  in  November  and  moved 
into  what  was  called  the  Farham  or  Ferry  house, 
which  stood  until  about  1875  just  below  the  Cable 
mansion.  The  next  year  he  built  a  hewn  log 
house  on  the  corner  lot  on  second  street,  west  of 
the  opera  house.  A  few  years  later  he  erected 
the  frame  dwelling  on  what  is  called  the  Brooks 
farm  on  Fifth  avenue.  There  is  quite  a  story 
connected  with  the  entry  of  this  fractional  quarter 


81 

section  of  land  at  the  land  office  at  Galena.  Win. 
Brooks  before  starting  for  Galena  to  enter  this  land, 
learned  that  John  H.  Sulivan,  a  much  younger 
man  intended  to  go  on  the  first  boat  to  Galena,  to 
enter  the  same  piece  of  land,  the  boat  was  due  in 
the  morning  and  Mr.  Brooks  knew  that  in  the 
race  up  the  steep  bank  at  Galena  to  Bench  street 
where  the  land  office  was  situated,  Sulivan  would 
outrun  him.  He  consulted  with  Charles  Eames, 
his  brother-in-law,  and  they  concluded  that  Mr. 
Eames  should  start  that  night  on  a  good  horse 
they  had  and  try  to  beat  the  boat,  and  that  Mr. 
Brooks  should  go  on  the  boat  taking  the  specie 
along  with  him  to  enter  the  land.  Mr.  Eames 
started  in  the  afternoon,  stopping  at  Port  Byron 
that  night.  His  next  stop  was  at  Mr.  Pierce's,  at 
Savanna,  who  gave  him  a  fresh  horse  to  continue 
his  night  ride.  Mr.  Eames  had  been  over  the 
road  before  and  was  familiar  with  the  route.  He 
passed  by  Pilot  Knob,  Hinckley's  Mound  and  the 
little  rugged  city  soon  came  in  view  at  about  9 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  he  rode  down  the 
steep  hill  in  East  Galena,  he  saw  in  the  distance 
down  the  little  winding  river  the  smoke  of  a  steam 
boat.  He  soon  reached  the  land  office  and  made 
the  application  for  the  land,  telling  the  officers 
that  his  brother-in-law  would  be  on  the  first  boat 
with  the  money.  As  he  came  down  the  hill  he 
met  Sulivan  on  the  keen  run.  When  Sulivan 
went  into  the  office  and  found  that  the  land  was 


82 

entered  he  would  not  heleive  it  at  first  until  he 
saw  Mr.  Brooks  come  in  with  the  money  and  pay 
for  the  land.  They  had  made  the  voyage  togeth- 
er and  had  talked  on  various  subjects,  of  every- 
thing except  the  entry  of  the  land.  A  few  years 
after  this,  Mr.  Brooks  put  up  a  substantial  farm 
house  which  is  still  standing.  At  this  time  it  was 
all  or  nearly  all  heavily  timbered.  He  obtaind 
some  apple  seeds  from  a  barrel  of  rotten  apples 
and  started  a  nursery  from  which  he  set  out  a 
large  orchard  of  some  fifteen  acres  on  the  west 
side  of  the  so-called  Columbian  grounds.  These 
trees  he  afterwards  grafted  and  in  a  few  years  rais- 
ed large  quantities  of  apples  which  were  quite  a 
source  of  revenue.  He  told  his  children  that  they 
would  see  the  day  when  this  land  lying  between 
the  two  towns  would  be  worth  $500  dollars  per 
acre.  His  prediction  was  fulfilled  many  years 
ago,  and  in  1892  the  homestead  portion  contain- 
ing some  twenty-five  acres  was  sold  to  the  Colum- 
bian syndicate  for  some  sixty  thousand  dollars. 

The  election  of  Harrison  and  Tyler  in  1840  did 
not  improve  the  times  as  the  president  died  a  few 
months  after  his  election,  and  under  Tyler  his 
successor,  who  was  a  double  dyed  "Pro  Slavery" 
man,  the  country  went  back  under  the  control 
of  the  Democrats.  This  control  has  always  prov- 
en disasterous  to  the  best  interests  in  the  Northern 
states  as  the  Democracy  has  always  been,  and 
still  is  to  this  day,  under  the  control  of  these 


88 

Southern  masters,  who  now,  more  than  ever,  act 
as  a  unit  with  the  uriprogressive  Democracy.  In 
consequence  of  the  hard  times  in  this  section  of 
country,  this  county  was  infested  with  many  law- 
less characters.  In  Marshall  county  and  those 
adjoining,  they  had  a  desperate  gang  called  the 
Reeves  gang,  who  had  terrorized  the  country 
for  a  long  time.  This  gang  of  horse  thieves  and 
couriterfeitors  had  their  rendezvous  at  the  house 
of  old  man  Reeves.  Himself  and  wife  were  both 
very  able  in  ways  of  duplicity  and  rascality.  Under 
the  guidance  and  advice  of  these  two,  a  set  of  des- 
perate characters  were  gathered  together,  who  for 
a  number  of  years  preyed  upon  the  community, 
They  had  so  many  connections  and  confederates, 
it  was  almost  impossibleto  prove  anything  against 
them.  They  uniformely  escaped  unwhipt  of  jus- 
tice. They  tin  ally  became  so  bold  and  outrageous, 
that  the  best  men  of  Marshall,  and  three  or  four 
adjoining  counties  collected  together  to  the  num- 
ber of  four  hundred,  and  went  to  old  Reeves  and 
told  him  he  must  leave.  They  loaded  his  house- 
hold goods  upon  wagons,  his  virago  of  a  wife  and 
three  children  following  behind.  They  were  all 
shipped  on  the  steamer  Dove  down  the  Illinois 
river.  The  torch  was  then  applied  to  the  house 
and  outhouses.  The  gang  was  broken  up,  scat- 
tered to  commence  depredation  elsewhere.  They 
came  to  Rock  Island  and  murdered  Col.  George 
Davenport.  They  all  belonged  to  this  gang  of 


84 

outlaws  except  young  Baxter.  This  heinous  crime 
occurred  on  the  4th  of  July,  in  1846.  The  family 
with  the  servants  had  all  gone  over  to  Rock  Island 
to  celebrate  the  4th.  They  wished  him  to  go  with 
them,  but  he  declined  to  do  so.  He  did  not  wish 
to  leave  the  house  alone,  asa  number  of  suspicious 
characters  had  been  seen  lurking  around  the 
neighborhood  in  canoes.  He  was  provided  with 
a  brace  of  pistols,  and  took  his  position  in  a  front 
room  facing  the  river,  leaving  a  large  watch  dog 
near'the  rear  entrance  of  the  house.  The  robbers 
entered  the  house  very  quietly  in  the  rear.  They 
had  secured  as  a  confederate  to  guide  them,  young 
Baxter,  acquainted  with  the  family,  and  familiar 
with  the  dog.  He  going  ahead  of  them,  quieted 
the  dog  and  opening  the  rear  door  secured  admis- 
sion to  the  house,  and  going  through  the  room 
where  the  Colonel  was  sitting  opened  fire  upon 
him,  wounding  him  in  the  thigh.  They  demand- 
ed his  money  and  seizing  hold  of  him  roughly, 
draged  him  up  stairs  to  the  safe.  It  was  open- 
ed  and  they  found  only  a  few  dollars  in  specie, 
Baxter  had  told  the  robbers  there  was  a  large 
amount  in  the  safe,  which  was  true  only  a  few 
days  before,  but  Davenport  had  sent  $10,000  to 
St.  Louis  only  a  few  days  before,  so  the  robbers 
were  disappointed,  and  departed  taking  a  gold 
watch  and  the  few  dollars  in  silver  found  in  the 
safe,  giving  young  Baxter  one  dollar  for  his  share, 
leaving  the  poor  Colonel  alone  weltering  in  his 


85 

blood.  The  family  returned  at  night  and  found 
him  unconscious,  and  nearly  dead  from  loss  of 
blood.  He  lived  but  a  few  hours.  This  brutal 
assassination  caused  intense  excitement  through- 
out the  country,  and  large  rewards  were  offered 
by  the  governor  of  Iowa  and  Illinois,  and  by  the 
family.  This  induced  the  best  detective  talent  of 
the  country  to  use  their  efforts  to  capture  the 
theives  and  murderers.  Among  others  there  was 
a  Mr.  Bonney,  afterwards  the  author  of  "The  Ban- 
dits of  the  Prairie,"  who  offered  his  services.  He 
was  a  shrewd  sharp  man,  and  kept  watch  of  the 
operations  of  the  gang.  Their  headquarters  was 
at  the  house  of  one,  Williams,  who  lived  on  Rock 
River,  about  12  miles  above  Rock  Island.  Mr. 
Bonney  obtained  letters  of  introduction  to  the  gov- 
ernors of  iowa  and  Illinois,  showing  the  nature  of 
his  business.  He  obtained  unsigned  bank  bills 
on  the  state  banks  of  Missouri  and  the  Dubuque 
bank,  in  Iowa,  and  one  or  two  banks  ol  Illinois. 
It  did  not  take  him  long  to  fall  in  with  some  of 
the  gang  and  showing  them  these  unsigned  bills 
he  soon  succeeded  in  gaining  their  confidence 
and  learning  all  their  plans,  and  who  were  the 
murderers  of  Col.  Davenport,  and  when  his  plans 
were  all  matured  they  were  arrested.  John  Young 
and  Aaron,  his  brother  were  arrested  at  the  house 
of  their  father  eight  miles  east  of  Galena,  his 
house  was  in  a  wild  secluded  place  in  the  deeply 
wooded  hills  of  Jo  Daviess  countv.  Thev  were 


86 

taken  to  Hock  Island^  and  lodged  in  jail.  Gran- 
nels  Young  another  of  the  murderers  was  arrested. 
Fox  was  arrested  in  Indiana,  but  somehow  man- 
aged to  escape  from  the  sheriff.  Birch  was  arrest- 
ed at  Peoria,  and  on  trial  turned  states  evidence, 
and  was  not  hanged  with  the  Longs  and  Youngs. 
They  were  convicted  and  hanged  on  Oct.  19th, 
1845,  three  months  and  a  half  after  the  murder 
was  committed,  (speedy  justice  was  meeted  out  to 
them,  without  the  long  tedious  delays  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Witness  the  long,  lingering  trial  of 
Guiteau  for  the  murder  of  the  lamented  Garfield, 
and  again  the  trial  of  that  worthless  vagabond 
Prendergast,  for  the  murder  of  Carter  Harrison, 
which  at  this  writing  has  been  in  progress  two  or 
three  weeks  and  may  continue  as  much  longer. 
The  costs  of  these  long  lingering  suits  are  paid, 
one  by  the  government  and  the  other  by  the  mu- 
nicipality of  Chicago.) 

On  the  day  of  execution  an  immense  crowd 
were  assembled.  The  sheriff  had  been  notified 
that  an  attempt  at  rescue  might  be  made,  and 
then  forewarned  he  had  provided  for  the  emergen- 
cy, by  arming  some  seventy-five  trusty  citizens  as 
a  guard,  as  it  was  noticed  there  were  many  strange 
faces  and  hard  looking  characters  about  Rock 
Island  some  days  preceding  the  execution.  The 
elder  Long  made  a  very  long  and  pathetic  speech, 
and  at  its  close  there  was  a  rush  towards  the  gal- 
lows, but  the  guards  faced  about  towards  the  crowd 


87 

ready  to  shoot  if  there  was  an  attempt  made  at 
rescue.  Whether  there  was  one  or  not,  or  wheth- 
er the  rush  was  only  excitement  of  the  crowd  was 
not  known.  If  it  meant  a  rescue  it  was  promptly 
foiled,  and  the  execution  proceeded  without  fur- 
ther excitement,  and  three  of  these  blood  stained 
assassins  were  brought  to  justice.  Fox,  who  was 
said  to  be  the  leader  in  the  murder  as  before  stat- 
ed and  was  never  heard  of  again.  Young  Baxter 
who  volunteered  to  lead  the  assassins  to  the  house 
fled  and  was  in  hiding  a  long  time.  A  rumor 
-came  that  he  was  at  his  brother-in-laws  near  Mad- 
ison, Wisconsin.  Dr.  Gregg  who  had  been  untir- 
ing in  his  efforts  to  bring  the  murderers  to  justice 
procured  a  requisition  on  the  Governor  of  Wis- 
consin and  with  an  officer  went  in  search  of  this 
foolish  young  man  whoso  cheaply  sold  his  ser- 
vices to  the  outlaws,  they  found  him  at  Haneys,  he 
was  returned  to  Rock  Island,  tried  for  murder  and 
sentenced  to  state  prison  for  life,  dying  a  few  years 
after  of  consumption.  He  made  a  confession  in 
full,  telling  all  the  particulars  of  the  plot.  He 
was  well  connected.  His  brother  who  came  from 
Virginia,  was  at  the  time  in  chargeof  the  Post  on 
the  Island  under  an  appointment  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  young  man  was  admitted  to  the 
friendship  and  confidence  of  Uol.  Davenport,  so 
that  at  the  time,  he  knew  of  the  large  sum  of 
money  he  supposed  was  in  the  house  and  gave 
the  information  to  the  robbers,  they  promising 
him  a  share  of  the  plunder. 


88 

Davenport  in  1840  had  about  500  inhabitants, 
among  the  persons  whom  I  recollect  then  living 
there  were  Dr,  Barrows,  a  very  skillful  physician, 
who  first  settled  at  Rockingham  and  afterwads 
married  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine,  Mary  Suli- 
van,  sister  of  I.  H.Sulivan,  founder  of  Rocking- 
ham. The  Dr.  I  think,  is  still  living  in  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  at  the  advanced  ageof  90.  Judge  James 
Grant,  who  came  from  North  Carolina,  was  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  lawyers  of  Iowa.  I  first 
met  him  in  Chicago  in  1834,  he  had  opened  an 
office  in  a  small  shanty.  I  noticed  his  sign,  "law- 
yers office"  and  stopped  to  have  a  power  of  attor- 
ney drawn,- when  finished  I  asked  how  much  I  had 
to  pay,  he  said  in  his  off  hand  way,  "one  dollar." 
He  told  me  some  years  after  his  price  for  that  kind 
of  ducurnent  would  beat  least  five  dollars.  An- 
other pioneer  was  I.  M.  D.  Burrows,  who  came 
from  Cincinnati  in  1838.  Soon  after  he  opened 
a  store  and  commenced,  during  the  hard  times, 
taking  produce  from  the  farmers,  the  first  one  to 
do  so  in  this  section  of  the  country.  His  business 
gradually  increased  and  developed  until  he  was 
doing  an  immense  business  for  that  early  day. 
He  built  a  grist  mill  and  packing  house,  and  did 
more  towards  building  up  and  developing  Daven- 
port and  Scott  county  than  any  other  in  these 
early  days.  I  had  a  good  many  business  tran- 
sactions with  him  while  living  in  Galena  and  al- 
ways found  him  honest  and  honorable.  Later  in 


89 

life  he  became  embarrassed  and  very  poor,  but 
the  trading  spirit  was  so  strong  in  him  that  only 
a  few  years  ago  I  often  saw  him  pass  my  house 
with  his  old  horse  and  vvagon  loaded  with  vege- 
tables for  the  Moline  market.  In  1880  he  wrote 
and  published  a  very  interesting  and  readable 
book  of  some  200  pages.  James  Mclntoth  a 
Scotchman  irom  Dundee  was  another  noted  char- 
acter owning  a  portion  of  the  town  site  and  im- 
proving the  same  by  laying  outand  improvingthe 
streets,  a  very  genial  man.  He  was  Territorial 
and  State  binder  for  Iowa,  and  established  the  first 
book  bindery  in  Davenport.  Towards  the  close 
of  his  life  he  become  somewhat  embarrassed  and 
despondent  and  ended  his  life  by  suicide  at  Mc- 
Gregor, Iowa.  George  L.  Davenport  the  son  of 
Col.  G.  Davenport  after  his  marriage  to  Miss  Clark 
settled  in  Davenport.  He  was  married  at  the 
small  Catholic  church  in  Davenport  by  Father 
Mazuakette  in  1839.  Myself  and  wife  before  our 
marriage  stood  up  with  them,  we  afterwards  went 
onto  the  island  and  spent  the  night  at  Col.  Daven- 
port's house.  George  L,  was  very  liberal  and  he 
and  Antonie  Leclaire  erected  many  substantial 
brick  buildings  in  after  years. 

Antonie  Leclaire  the  Indian  interpreter  and 
agent  must  not  be  forgotten,  a  half  breed,  French 
and  Indian,  as  he  said,  "the  very  first  white  man 
who  settled  in  Davenport."  A  very  large  fleshy 
man  who  had  not  been  able  to  tie  his  shoes  for 


90 

many  years  before  his  death.  His  house,  the  only 
one  in  1833  on  the  site  of  Davenport  stood  on 
the  gentle  slope  some  distance  below  his  mansion, 
built  many  years  later;  I  recollect  it  as  well  as  if 
I  saw  it  only  yesterday.  Some  logs  or  something 
else  had  been  drawn  up  from  the  river,  making 
very  plain  marks  up  the  slope.  I  was  in  his  old 
log  house  a  few  years  afterattendinga  ball,  I  think. 
I  recollect  the  largest  room  in  the  house  was  pap- 
ered in  the  most  georgeous  and  oriental  style, 
with  tropical  plants  and  palm  trees.  He  was  a 
most  liberal  broad  minded  man,  willing  and  ready 
to  help  the  needy  and  forward  every  public  work 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city.  He  died  many  years 
ago.  John  Forrest,  who  married  my  sister,  set- 
tled in  Davenport  in  1838.  He  entered  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  hill  which  later  he  laid  off  into  lots. 
He  was  postmaster  succeeding  D.  C.  Eldridge,  and 
was  a  magistrate  tor  many  years,  built  the  For- 
rest block  on  Brady  street.  He  died  in  the  fall  of 
1893  at  the  advanced  age  of  88  years. 

Leclaireat  the  head  of  the  rapids,  early  attract- 
ed attention  as  a  favorable  site  for  a  town.  Two 
of  the  Davenports,  who  formerly  lived  in  Rock- 
ingham.  settled  there  and  established  a  boat  yard 
for  the  repairing  and  building  of  boats.  Capt. 
V.  D.  Dawley  settled  there  at  an  early  day.  The 
father  of  Jas.  B.  Eades  settled  at  the  little  town  of 
Princeton,  two  miles  above  Leclaire.  He  came 
from  St.  Louis,  having  done  business  thereunder 


91 

the  name  of  Buchanan  &  Eades.  Port  Byron  op- 
posite Leclaire,  was  laid  off  in  1836  or  1837  by 
Archibald  Allen  and  N.  Belcher.  Mr.  Belcher 
came  to  Rock  Island  in  1835,  and  then  moved  to 
Port  Byron.  He  was  postmaster  under  Harrison, 
and  after  Harrison's  death  under  the  reign  of 
Tyler,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  postmaster 
general,  requiring  his  written  assent  to  a  certain 
policy.  The  circular  stated  he  must  sign  it.  In- 
stead he  wrote  a  most  scathing  letter,  which  was 
published  in  the  Rock  Island  paper  and  also  in 
the  Galena  Gazette.  Joe  Knox  or  some  one  here 
sent  a  copy  of  the  paper  to  the  department,  and 
Belcher  WHS  forthwith  removed.  After  the  Repub- 
licans came  into  power  he  was  again  appointed 
and  held  the  office  for  many  years.  He  was  a 
strong  vigorous  writer.  Silas  Marshall  with  his 
large  interesting  family,  who  married  Belcher's 
sister,  settled  there  about  the  same  time  and  kept 
a  good  hotel.  The  young  people  of  Rock  Island 
used  to  often  get  up  dancing  parties  in  the  winter, 
going  up  in  large  sleighs  with  plenty  of  hay  in 
the  bottom.  They  generally  kept  up  the  dance 
until  morning. 

Sometime  along  in  the  fifties  under  a  Demo- 
cratic and  pro  slavery  administration,  it  was  giv- 
en out  that  the  secretary  of  war  would  sell  the 
island,  that  it  would  soon  be  subject  to  entry,  our 
Southern  masters,  thinking  we  had  no  need  ofa 
site  for  arsenals  or  forts  at  the  North.  It  was  in 


92 

the  winter  season  when  the  report  got  out  and 
there  was  a  rush  for  the  island  to  secure  squatter 
claims,  by  erecting  small  shanties  and  living  in 
them  a  few  days.  They  all  had  to  leave  in  the 
spring  as  the  policy  of  selling  the  island  was 
abandoned,  it  was  said  through  the  influence  of 
Jeff  Daviess,  who  at  one  time  was  stationed  here 
before  he  was  at  Fort  Crawford.  If  this  was  so, 
we  will  give  him  all  due  credit  for  the  same. 

Lemuel  Andrews  my  old  partner  in  business 
was  a  shrewd  sharp  man,  a  true  friend  to  those 
he  liked,  but  a  bitter  unrelenting  enemy  to  those 
who  crossed  his  path.  He  had  somewhat  of  a 
legal  mind.  The  lawyers  said  he  was  a  good 
judge  of  land  titles  and  his  knowledge  in  this  re- 
spect enabled  him  to  acquire  at  cheap  rates  a 
number  of  tracts  of  land  with  defective  titles  and 
he  also,  while  sheriff  of  the  county  accumulated  a 
good  deal  by  tax  titles,  which  he  perfected.  We 
built  together  the  first  brick  store  which  is  still 
standing  just  east  of  the  court  house  square,  ad- 
joining the  house  Mrs.  Cobb  occupied  so  long. 
This  house  he  also  put  up  and  occupied  for  some 
years.  He  erected  a  saw  and  grist  mill  combined, 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  in  1841.  He  in  con- 
nection with  some  others  built  the  steamer,  Clar- 
ion, utilizing  the  wreck  of  the  old  steamer,  Bra- 
zil, which  was  sunk  near  the  government  toll 
wagon  bridge  by  the  ice.  Later  he  erect- 
ed and  occupied  the  large  costly  mansion  for  so 


93 

many  years  known  as  the  Cable  residence.  He 
at  the  time  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the 
neighborhood  including  all  the  land  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  Twenty-ninth  or  Elm  street.  He  and 
Daniel  A,  Barrows  owned  a  tract  of  land,  some 
30  acres,  embracing  the  ground  where  the 
lower  Moline  school  house  stands.  The  land  was 
platted  and  divided  between  them  and  I  after- 
wards sold  most  of  the  lots  and  the  land  embrac- 
ing the  high  bluff  just  south  of  the  school  house, 
to  John  Deere.  The  sale  in  all  amounting  to  some 
$15,000. 

He  was  always  deeply  in  debt,  but  always  man- 
aged to  escape  from  judgments  and  creditors  by 
frequent  transfers  of  his  property.  This  cause  has 
tended  to  somewhat  complicate  the  titles  of  some 
of  the  property  in  which  he  was  interested.  When 
he  died  in  1860  his  estate  was  deeply  embarrassed, 
but  under  the  wise  judicious  management  of  Judge 
Gould  the  administrator,  some  part  of  it  was  saved 
for  his  widow  and  two  children,  Lemuel  and  El- 
len. 

Elisha  P.  Reynolds  came  here  in  1838  at  an 
early  day,  he  owned  and  built  the  house  in  which  I 
now  live  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twen- 
ty-Ninth  street.  About  this  time  he  entered  into 
partnership  with  Christopher  Atkinson  in  the 
brick  making  business.  Their  first  brick  yard 
was  located  near  the  corner  of  Twenty-Ninth 
street  and  Seventh  Avenue.  Not  finding  enough 


94 

clay  here  they  commenced  making  brick   at  the 
present  site  of  the  brick  yard  on   the    hill    which 
has  been  so  long  used  in   brick  making  by   Wm. 
Atkinson  &  Oloff,     The  first  contract  for  railroad 
work  was  with  the  C.  R.  &  R.  I.,  in  building   the 
embankment  to  the  approaches  to  their  old    line 
across  the  Island  for  the  bridge  which  crossed  the 
slough.    In  this  he  showed    his  natural  shrewd- 
ness by  using  the  sand  found   close   at   hand  in- 
stead of  hauling  the  dirt  from  a  distance,  as  other 
builders  expected  to  do.     In  1857  he  took   a  con- 
tract to  grade  a  number  of  miles  for   the   Racine 
railroad,  which  was  based  mainly   on  bonds  is- 
sued on  farm    mortgages  given   by   the  farmers 
along  the  line,  At  this  time  there  was  some  hitch 
in  obtaining  the  money  that  was  due  him  for  work 
done,  and  the  financial  crash  of  that   year  found 
him  unable  to  pay  the  men  he  had  employed  in 
the  work.     In  August  of  that  year  [  bought  the 
place  I  now  occupy  of  Hibbard  Moore,  paying  a 
fancy  price  for  it.     An  amount  that  would    have 
bought  six  times  the  amount  of  real  estate  the 
next  year,  so  I  was  told.     Mr.  Moore   who  was  a 
good  friend  of  Mr.  Reynolds  loaned  him    $8,000, 
which  he  has  often  told  me,  saved  him  from  bank- 
ruptcy.    From  this  time  he  continued  to'domore 
or  less  railroad  work,  until  the  firm    of  Reynolds, 
Salpaugh  &  Co.,  was  formed,  when  they  commen- 
ced taking  many  contracts  for  building  railroads 
and  bridges,   sometimes  making   a  good  deal  of 


95 

money  and  sometimes  losing  largely.  They  took 
a  contract  to  build  some  400  miles  of  road  in 
Texas,  on  which  each  of  the  four  partners  engag- 
ed lost  some  $20,000.  A  few  years  after  the  part- 
nership of  Reynolds  and  Salpaugh  was  disolved 
and  the  firm  of  E.  P.  Reynolds  &  Co.,  was  reorgan- 
ized, composed  of  his  three  sons,  in  which  Porter 
Skinner  often  had  an  interest.  The  new  firm  be- 
came very  popular,  having  the  reputation  of  al- 
ways doing  good  work  and  doing  as  they  agreed. 
They  built  many  hundreds  of  miles  of  road  in  the 
west  and  south,  and  made  a  good  deal  of  money 
as  long  as  E.  P.  Reynolds  had  the  leading  direction 
and  management.  He  became  somewhat  infirm 
of  late  years,  and  some  losing  contracts  were  made 
by  the  boys.  ^  contract  in  Indiana  and  another 
in  .Kentucky,  proving  very  disastrous  financially, 
culminating  in  losing  over  half  a  million  of  dol- 
lars. Mr.  Reynolds  credit  was  excellent,  and  lor 
the  last  three  or  four  years  before  his  death  he 
borrowed  sums  ranging  from  $2,000  to  $10,000,  of 
his  neighbors  and  of  some  of  his  employers,  who 
were  some  of  them  left  destitute,  he  thinking  no 
doubt  that  he  would  be  able  sooner  or  later  to  re- 
place the  money.  He  was  elected  mayor  one  or 
two  terms,  serving  very  acceptably.  What- 
ever work  he  had  done  was  well  done.  He  open- 
ed and  improved  the  best  appointed  farm  in  the 
county,  in  Pleasant  Valley,  converting  valuless 
marsh  land  by  a  thorough  system  of  drainage 


96 

into  rich  productive  fields.  The  whole  tract  of 
440  acres  is  the  most  of  it  in  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation with  large  barns  and  other  buildings  for 
stock.  Mr.  Reynolds  was.  possessed  of  a  strong 
vigorous  mind,  his  impulses  were  generally  in  the 
right  direction,  a  good  kind  neighbor  and  re- 
spected by  all.  I  have  written  somewhat  at 
length  of  these  two  men,  my  old  associates  and 
friends,  because  I  consider  them  both  to  have  been 
leading  representative  men  among  the  early  pio- 
neers of  Rock  Island. 

In  1854  the  first  railroad  to  reach  the  Mississip- 
pi river  was  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island.  The  con- 
tract to  build  this  road  was  let  to  Henry  Farnam 
and  Joseph  Sheffield,  both  coming  from  Connec- 
ticut, where  they  had  considerable  experience  in 
rail  road  and  canal  building.  They  commenced 
this  work  in  April  1852,  and  finished  it  to  Rock 
Island  in  February  1854.  The  main  direction  of 
this  work  was  under  the  direction  and  manage- 
ment of  Henry  Farnam,  who  with  indomitable 
energy  pushed  it  through  to  completion  in  four 
months  less  time  than  the  contract  called  for. 

Our  old  neighbor  John  Warner  and  Wm. 
Whitman  took  large  sub-contracts  for  grading, 
and  after  the  completion  of  the  road,  a  company 
was  organized  to  build  the  bridge  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  John  Warner  had  the  contract  for 
building  the  stone  peers  and  abutments.  This 
work  was  done  in  1855.  The  Chicago  and  Galena 


97 

railroad  was  commenced  some  two  years  before 
and  had  only  reached  Elgin,  when  the  Rock 
Island  road  was  commenced,  and  Mr.  Farnam  was 
anxious  to  reach  the  Mississippi  first,  which  he 
did,  some  two  years  before. 

Completion  of  the  Chicago  &  R.  I.  R.  R.  to  Rock 
Island.    The  Great  R.  R.  Excursion  to  St.  Paul. 

The  Galena  road  was  finished  to  Freeport, 
fifty  miles  east  of  Galena,  by  the  Chicago  Galena 
company,  and  after  a  delay  of  two  years  or  more, 
the  road  was  taken  in  hand  by  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral who  built  it  to  Galena  in  the  year  1856,  and 
some  months  after  was  extended  to  the  Mississip- 
pi river  opposite  Dubuque.  The  Chicago  direc- 
tors were  ,afraid  of  the  heavy  work  through  the 
rough  Jo  Daviess  hills,  the  deep  cut  and  heavy 
grade  at  Scales  Mound,  and  sold  out  their  birth- 
right to  the  Central.  Win.  B.  Ogden,  a  broad 
liberal  minded  man,  who  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  road  from  its  beginning,  was  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  policy  of  selling  out,  or  rather  giving  up 
their  right  to  the  Central.  When  the  road  reach- 
ed Rock  Island  in  February  there  was  a  celebra- 
tion, a  jolification,  firing  cannons,  speeches,  etc. 
But  the  great  event  was  the  railroad  and  steam- 
boat excursion  to  St.  Paul,  Minn.  Mr.  Farnain 
invited  the  stockholders  and  their  families,  and  a 
number  of  the  representative  men  of  New  Eng- 


98 

land  'and  New  York.  Ex-President  Filmore, 
Thurston  Ward,  Chas.  A.Dana,  of  the  New  York 
Tribune,  and  some  six  or  eight  other  editors  of 
leading  Eastern  papers,  besides  a  number  of  col- 
lege professors,  who  were  among  the  invited  guests, 
numbering  in  all  some  600.  On  their  arrival  at 
Rock  Island  they  were  met  by  six  fast  and  beauti- 
ful steamers  belonging  and  owned  in  Galena,  and 
engaged  in  the  Galena,  Dubuque  and  St.  Paul 
trade,  and  given  a  free  ride  to  St.  Paul.  The  boats 
composing  the  fleet  were  the  Golden  Era.  Capt. 
Hiram  Bers-ie  an  old  time  friend  and  partner  of 
mine  in  milling;  Lady  Franklin,  Capt.  Blakeley; 
The  Galena,  Capt,  Orrin  Smith;  War  Eagle,  Capt. 
Smith  Harris;  The  Sparkawk,Capt.  Green.  Two 
other  boats  joined  the  procession  near  Galena,, 
taking  many  passengers  from  Dubuque  and  Ga- 
lena. The  river  was  high  and  often  "two  boats 
would  be  joined  together  for  miles,  and  passen- 
gers would  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  On  their 
arrival  at  St.  Paul  where  they  stopped  two  days, 
they  were  greeted  and  treated  royally  by  the  peo- 
ple. On  their  return  all  those  who  wished  to  re- 
turn east,  by  the  way  of  Rock  Island  took  passage 
on  four  of  the  fastest  steamers,  and  reached  Rock 
Island  in  less  than  thirty-six  hours.  This  was 
thegrandest  excursion  ever  given  on  the  great  river 
and  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of  Rock  Island 
and  was  far  reaching  in  its  effects  on  the  rapid 
settlement  of  Northern  Iowa  and  the  new  unde- 


99 

veloped  state  of  Minnesota.  It  attracted  wide  at- 
tention in  all  the  Eastern  states,  as  nearly  all  the 
leadingeditors  who  enjoyed  the  excursion  intense- 
ly, had  long  articles  in  their  several  papers,  de- 
scribing the  delightful  scenery,  through  which 
they  passed,  and  the  immense  resources  of  the 
Northwest.  These  reports  and  the  comments  of 
others  to  their  neighbors  on  their  return  home, 
started  a  rush  of  emigrants  for  this  new  country. 
The  magnificent  steamers  belonging  totheGalena 
and  St.  Paul  company  were  after  this,  usually 
crowded  with  emigrants,  mostly  coming  in  by  the 
way  of  Freeport  from  the  end  of  the  unfinished 
Chicago  and  Galena  railroad,  by  stage  from  Free- 
port  and  taking  passage  at  Galena.  This  pros- 
perous state  of  affairs  continued  for  two  years. 
The  little  wharf  at  Galena  being  crowded  with 
business,  two  or  three  boats  leaving  daily  for  St. 
Paul,  until  the  Illnois  Central  reached  the  Mis- 
sissippi at  Dunleith  opposite  Dubuque. 

There  was  quite  a  rapid  trade  sprung  up  in 
Rock  Island  after  the  completion  of  the  R.  R.  New 
enterprises  were  started,  new  stores  were  erected, 
some  manufactories,  a  large  iron  foundry  was  erec- 
ted by  N.  B.  Buford,  who  also  built  a  pork  house 
and  the  large  three  story  house  on  First  street  fac- 
ing the  river,  now  occupied  by  our  old  able  edi- 
tor of  the  Union,  Walter  Johnson.  During  this 
time  Col.  Cha*  Buford  started  the  plow  factory 
that  is  still  in  operation  under  a  new  company 


100 

and  a  new  management.  The  coal  banks  out  at 
Coal  Valley  were  opened  at  an  earlier  day,  by  Ben 
Harper,  Homes  Hakes  and  S.  S.  Guyer,  and  they 
began  to  supply  boats  with  coal  and  to  ship  north. 
I  bought  a  number  of  barge  loads  for  our  steam 
flour  mill  at  Galena,  paying  12J  cents  per  bushel 
delivered.  These  mines  fell  into  the  hands  of  P. 
L.  Cable  later,  and  proved  a  great  source  of  profit 
to  him  under  his  wise  management,  giving  his 
miners  J  of  the  gross  product  of  the  mines.  He 
never  had  a  strike  under  this  system,  clearly  de- 
monstrating that  under  this  system  of  sharing 
profits  with  the  employes,  strikes  are  avoided  and 
labor  is  more  likely  to  reap  a  proper  share  of  their 
earnings;  wherever  ano!  whenever  this  system  has 
been  inaugurated  under  well  directed  and  honest 
management,  it  has  uniformly  proven  a  success. 
I  believe  that  this  is  to  be  in  the  future  the  solu- 
tion of  the  trouble  between  labor  and  capital.  All 
sorts  ef  manufacturing  can  be  carried  on  in  this 
way,  and  even  railroads  might  be  run  in  this  way 
were  it  not  for  the  watered  stock  and  the  greed  of 
many  connected  with  the  management  of  outside 
operations.  For  many  years  Mr.  Cable  had  the 
mono_poly  of  the  coal  trade,  as  he  owned  and  con- 
trolled the  railroad  leading  to  the  mines.  These 
mines  and  the  ones  opened  in  Mercer  county  to 
which  he  built  a  railroad  have  been  a  constant 
source  of  a  large  yearly  income.  In  the  interval 
between  1854  and  1857  and  later,  a  number  of 


101 

banks  were  started  by  P.  L.  Mitchell  &  P.  L.  Cable, 
N.  B.  Buford;  Birch  &  Blackburn  opened  one; 
and  Marcus  Osborn  and  Wm.  Lee  also  opened  a 
bank. 

The  Financial  Panic  of  1857.     General  Suspension 
of  nearly  all  Western  Banks. 

When  the  crisis  of  1857  came  on,  these  bank- 
ing institutions  all  went  down  except  one,  Mit- 
chell &  Cable.  The  country  seemed  to  be  pros- 
pering at  the  time,  but  unlimited  credits  were 
given  to  almost  any  enterprise,  speculation  had 
received  an  impetus  from  the  large  amounts  of 
gold  brought  from  California.  The  first  of  the  in- 
stitutions to  fall  was  the  one  at  Cincinnati  which 
had  .many  branches,  and  the  main  one  in  New 
York.  They  were  allowing  5  or  6  per  cent,  on  de- 
posits and  many  of  our  Western  bankers  made 
their  deposits  with  the  New  York  branches,  de- 
positing all  their  spare  funds  and  drawing  against 
this  branch  whenever  they  sold  exchange.  This 
institution  was  the  first  brick  to  tumble  in  therow 
and  a  money  panic  seemed  to  seize  the  whole  coun- 
try, and  there  was  a  general  suspension  of  specie 
payments  with  most  of  the  Western  banks.  Our 
old  friends,  Marcus  Osborne  and  Wm.  L.  Lee,  suc- 
cumbed to  the  storm.  Mr.  Osborne  retired  to  the 
shades  of  a  little  town  on  LakePepin  and  remained 
until  the  storm  blew  over.  Wm.  L.  Lee  went  to  Col- 
orado and  recuperated  his  fallen  fortunes,  settling 


102 

and  living  in  Chicago  for  many  years  after,  dying 
a  short  time  ago  in  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas.  In 
1866,  I  bought  of  him  the  acre  of  ground  on 
which  stand  the  Felgler  and  Larkin  houses. 

Real  estate  went  down  and  everything  was  dead 
in  the  way  of  business  for  three  or  four  years  un- 
til the  commencement  of  the  Civil  war.  Many 
new  branches  of  manufacturing  industry  had 
been  started  in  Moline  which  were  compelled  to 
quit,  some  of  them  becoming  bankrupt.  Even  our 
old  valued  friend,  John  Deere,  was  compelled  to 
ask  for  an  extension.  Galena  perhaps  stood  the 
onslaught  better  than  any  other  city  in  the  West, 
only  one  banking  house  being  compelled  to  close 
and  make  a  compromise  with  its  creditors,  the 
house  of  James  Carter.  He  had  deposited  large- 
ly with  the  Cincinnati  concern.  He  was  fortunate 
in  the  outcome  however,  as  in  settlement  he  took 
some  railroad  securities  at  a  low  figure,  which  in 
a  short  time  when  the  panic  was  over  largely  ap- 
preeia'ed  so  that  he  was  the  gainer  by  the  failure. 
He  was  the  father  of  Leslie  Carter,  who  had  so 
much  trouble  with  his  extravagant  actress  wife. 
He  was  also  connected  with  George  Smith  and 
Alexander  Mitchell,  of  Milwaukee,  in  banking 
operations, 

As  long  as  I  am  now  writing  about  bankers,  I 
might  as  well  give  some  reminiscences  connected 
with  these  three  Scotch  bankers,  Carter,  who  lived 
in  Galena,  Mitchell  in  Milwaukee,  and  Smith  in 


103 

Chicago.  James  Carter  came  to  Galena  in  1843, 
he  was  started  in  the  banking  business,  assisted 
by  his  two  Scotch  friendsanddoneall  the  business 
through  them.  At  this  time  theCorwith  brothers, 
Henry  and  Nathan  were  the  only  bankers  in  Ga- 
lena, and  dene  a  large  share  of  the  lead  trade, 
buying  the  lead  from  the  smelters  and  shipping 
it  East  by  way  of  St.  Louis,  These  cunningScotch- 
men  wished  to  have  a  share  in  this  lucrative 
trade.  The  Corwiths  continued  to  do  the  larger 
share  of  the  banking  and  lead  business,  their  bank 
was  a  bank  of  issue,  called  the  Galena  bank,  and 
is  still  at  this  writing  carried  on  by  the  successors 
of  the  Corwiths.  Sometime  along  in  theSOs,  and 
before  this  time  George  Smith  had  a  banking  con- 
cern called  The  Milwaukee  Fire  Insurance  com- 
pany. He  also  obtained  possession  of  the  charter 
of  a  bank  at  Atlanta,  Georgia.  It  was  his  practice 
to  send  a  large  amount  of  his  Milwaukee  bank 
notes  down  to  Atlanta  for  circulation  there,  and 
his  Atlanta  notes  were  brought  north  for  circula- 
tion. Any  bank  that  would  not  circulate  this  wild 
cat  money  if  they  had  any  bills  in  circulation, 
they  would  be  gathered  up  and  sent  to  the  bank 
for  redemption  in  specie.  In  this  way  he  forced 
a  good  many  of  the  banks  in  this  section  to  take 
and  circulate  his  Georgia  money.  He  commenc- 
ed this  game  on  the  Galena  bank  and  also  on  the 
Mineral  Point  bank  owned  and  controlled  by  C. 
C.  Washburn  and  Cyrus  Woodman.  These  banks 


104 

would  not  touch  the  Georgia  money ;  utterly  re- 
fused to  give  it  circulation.  Jas.  Carter  as  soon 
as  he  took  in  a  few  hundred  dollars  of  the  bills  of 
these  two  banks  would  present  them  and  demand 
the  specie,  and  this  circulation  was  very  large  in 
the  mining  region.  These  two  banks  concluded 
to  play  the  same  game  on  George  Smith,  and  they 
quietly  gathered  up  a  number  of  thousand  dollars 
of  George  Smith's  Atlanta  money  and  C.  C. 
Washburn  afterwards  Gov.  of  the  State  of  Wiscon- 
sin, wended  his  way  down  to  Atlanta  and  calling 
at  the  bank  demanded  the  specie.  They  wished 
to  redeem  the  bills  with  eastern  exchange,  but 
Washburn  demanded  the  coin,  and  they  com- 
menced counting  it  out  as  slowly  as  possible  and 
borrowing  all  the  coin  in  town  the  bills  were  re- 
deemed at  last.  Our  two  banks  followed  up  the 
same  system  all  one  season,  sending  down  mes- 
sengers every  month  to  Atlanta  with  the  Georgia 
money  for  redemption.  George  Smith  at  last 
cried  "pecavi"  and  instructed  Jas.  Carter  to  stop  the 
game  and  that  was  the  means  by  which  the  weak- 
er banks  of  the  country  were  relieved  from  taking 
this  Georgia  money. 

Removal  From  Rock  Island  to  Galena  in  1841. 

As  before  stated  I  married  my  wife  in  the  spring 
of  1840.  We  were  married  by  Rev.  Stewart,  who 
was  induced  to  come  here  from  Southern  Illinois,. 


105     v. 

by  Knox  and  Mexter  and  start  a  church  it  was 
called  their  church  or  society.  Mr.  Stewart  was  a 
very  talented  man,  a  good  thinker  and  soon  had 
quite  a  respectable  congregation  of  persons  who 
were  not  attached  to  any  church.  He  afterwads 
became;a  follower  of  EmanuelSwedenburg's  teach- 
ings. I  met  him  some  years  after  and  heard  him 
preach  in  a  small  church  in  St.  Louis. 

We  commenced  housekeeping  in  a  small  brick 
house,  the  first  brick  dwelling  erected  in  the  town. 
It  was  built  by  and  belonged  to  Sage  &  Bellows, 

As  I  have  before  stated  all  business  was  par- 
alized,  little  or  no  money  was  in  circulation,  and 
what  little  there  was,  was  of  doubtful  value,  and 
the  little  building  or  improvement  thatwa&  made 
in  any  line  of  business  was  done  by  a  system  of 
barter  or  exchange  of  commodaties  or  labor. 

Under  this  state  of  affairs  I  began  to  look  around 
and  see  if  I  could  find  a  locality  where  I  could 
earn  a  living  for  my  young  wife  and  myself. 
About  this  time  my  cousin,  E.  B.  Kimball,  of  Ga- 
lena, who  had  been  in  business  there  for  four  or 
five  years  wished  to  change  his  location  by  open- 
ing a  commission  house  in  New  Orleans,  at  the- 
request  and  wish  of  Henry  Corwith,  who  after- 
wards married  his  wife's  sister,  a  daughter  of  Jas. 
G.  Soulard.  He  wished  him  to  go  there  to  for- 
ward the  large  amount  of  lead  that  was  being  sent 
from  Galena  to  New  York  by  his  firm  of  Henry 
and  Nathan  Corwith.  Mr.  Kimball  wished  me  to- 


106 

come  to  Galena  and  take  charge  of  what  business 
he  had  to  leave  unsettled.  He  promising  to  send 
me  consignments  of  sugar,  coffee  and  mining  rope 
and  giving  me  also  the  agency  for  the  sale  of  Laff- 
lin's  blasting  powder.  So  we  packed  up  a  few  house- 
hold goods,  and  with  tfiem  took  passage  on  the 
steamer  Frontier  with  Capt.  Smith  Harris.  When 
I  left  Rock  Island  I  was  liable  for  debts  contract- 
ed in  the  two  firms  with  which  I  had  been  connec- 
ted, to  the  amount  of  $20,000,  some  $15,000  in  the 
firm  of  Miller  &  McMaster,  and  about  $5,000  in 
the  firm  of  Andrews  &  McMaster.  The  first  I 
compromised  and  settled  in  1848.  Mr.  Andrews 
settled  the  other  in  the  course  of  four  or  five 
years.  Of  course  with  this  heavy  liability  hang- 
ing over  me  I  could  not  with  safety,  do  any  thing 
except  a  commission  business.  We  found  a  good 
comfortable  house  on  the  south  side  of  the  steep 
hill  standing  just  opposite  the  old  Harris  mansion 
near  the  foot  of  Gear  street,  both  are  still  there. 
We  were  made  very  welcome  by  my  many  old 
friends  of  1834.  I  took  a  store  just  east  of  the 
large  double  brick  store  at  the  head  of  the  levee, 
and  commenced  anew  to  try  and  build  up  my 
shattered  fortunes.  As  I  a  done  strictly  commis- 
sion business,  I  soon  received  many  consignments 
of  various  kinds  of  goods  besides  those  sent  me  by 
my  cousin  Kimball.  I  received  large  consign- 
ments of  apples  from  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  amounting 
in  1843  to  some  2,000  barrels  and  soon  had  all  I 


107 

could  do,  my  business  steadily  increasing.  The 
winter  set  in  early  in  1842.  On  the  14th  day  of 
November,  steam  boats  were  taking  on  lead  for  St. 
Louis.  I  shipped  a  number  of  tons  on  the  Brazil 
expecting  it  to  get  through  to  New  Orleans  and 
be  shipped  east  to  meet  'some  bills  falling  due 
soon,  made  by  Mr.  Kimball.  The  weather  was 
quite  mild  until  night,  when  it  turned  suddenly 
very  cold,  and  within  thirty-six  hours  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  closed  from  Galena  to  St.  Louis.  The 
Brazil  got  to  Rock  Island  and  wintered  there. 
Many  other  boats  were  caught  on  their  way  up 
the  river  with  supplies,  at  different  points,  and 
the  goods  on  many  of  them  were  hauled  by  teams 
during  the  winter  on  the  ice.  A  furioas  snow 
storm  set  in  on  the  loth,  falling  to  the  depth  of 
18  inches.  Heavy  snow  covered  the  ground  all 
winter.  The  cold  was  intense,  the  thermometer 
marking  20°  to  30  °  below.  The  month  of  March 
ranged  up  to  the  close  15  °  to  25  ®  .  The  river  was 
not  open  for  navigation  before  the  15th  of  April. 
Lake  Pepin  was  closed  until  the  20th  of  May. 
This  winter  was  decidedly  the  coldestofany  with- 
in my  recollection  of  the  past  sixty  years.  About 
all  we  could  do  in  Galena  this  winter  was  to  stay 
at  home  and  keep  up  the  fire.  The  output  of  the 
mines  kept  steadily  increasing.  New  and  vnlu- 
able  leads  were  being  opened  in  Illinois  and  the 
adjoining  lead  district  in  Wisconsin.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  little  city  was  steadily  increasing. 


108 

Stages  and  hacks  were  leaving  almost  daily  for 
the  different  mining  towns  of  Shullsburg,  Fair- 
play,  Hazel  Green,  Mineral  Point  and  New  Dig- 
gings. The  levee  would  be  so  thickly  covered 
with  piles  of  pigs  of  lead,  that  it  was  often  diffi- 
cult in  the  spring  to  find  a  place  to  land  goods 
from  the  steam  boats. 

Sketches  of  some  Leading    Galena  Men  in  Early 
Days. 

At  this  time  and  later  all  the  adjoining  terri- 
tory in  Wisconsin  and  east,  as  far  as  Rockford 
and  South  as  far  as  Rock  Island  was  more  or  less 
tributary  to  Galena,  as  Chicago  was  then  no  com- 
petitor for  this  trade.  A  little  later  large  capa- 
cious brick  stores  began  to  take  the  place  of  the 
frame  tenements  along  the  levee  arid  along  the 
line  of  Main  street.  Gold  and  silver  being  the 
currency  as  I  have  before  stated,  the  breaking  and 
insolvency  of  banks  had  very  little  effect  on  the 
prosperity  of  the  city.  Quite  a  number  of  the 
older  firms  who  were  in  business  in  1834  had 
either  failed  or  gone  out  of  business.  Hoper  Peck 
&  Scales,  Little  &  Warm,  Campbell  &  Morehouse 
had  failed.  R.  W.  Brash,  Farnsworth  and  Fergu- 
son, G.  W.  and  I.  Atchison,  and  M.  C  Comstock 
had  quit  business.  M.  C.  Comstock,  whose  store 
was  down  near  the  foot  of  the  levee,  sold  out 
his  stock  to  that  old  rusher  Hesikiah  H.  Gear. 
Gear  went  into  the  store  and  told  Comstock  he 


109 

wished  to  buy  him  out,  and  told  him,  "I  will  give 
you  so  much  for  this  side  of  the  store,  and  so  much 
for  that  side."  Mr.  Comstock  a  shrewd  merchant 
at  once  accepted  his  offer,  as  the  price  offered  was 
a  good  round  one,  for  an  old  stock  of  goods.  In 
1835  and  36,  Godfrey  &Gillman,  of  Alton,  in  con- 
nection with  some  other  Boston  capitalists  under- 
took to  build  up  a  town  there  as  a  rival  to  St. 
Louis.  At  this  time  the  state  bank  had  branches 
in  many  parts  of  the  state,  one  at  Alton,  and  one 
at  Galena.  As  a  means  to  this  end  they  under- 
took to  control  the  lead  trade  of  Galena,  and  they 
made  my  old  friend  Gear,  their  agent,  supplying 
him  for  awhile  with  unlimited  means.  His  first 
purchase  was  Comstock's  store,  and  then  he  com- 
menced buying  lead,  running  the  price  up  from 
week  to  week,  buying  furnaces  and  mineral  and 
advancing  the  price  of  mineral  largely.  He  was 
a  very  popular  man  with  the  miners  during  this 
time.  He  advanced  the  price  of  lead  until  it  was 
about  equal  to  the  price  in  New  York.  It  is  told 
of  him  that  one  day  he  went  to  a  bank  at  Galena 
and  wished  the  cashier  to  let  him  have  $100,000, 
and  as  cooly  as  if  he  expected  to  get  it,  offering 
his  draft  on  Godfrey,  Gillman  &  Co.  This  was 
kept  up  for  some  months.  The  lead  was  shipped 
to  Alton  and  some  of  it  forwarded  east,  but  the 
larger  part  was  held  at  Alton  and  finally  had  to 
be  sold  at  a  heavy  loss,  and  the  attempt  to  build 
up  Alton  as  a  rival  to  St.  Louis  was  a  miserable 


110 

failure,  bringing  disaster  upon  all  concerned.  Our 
state  bank,  which  had  been  advancing  means  to 
many  other  projects  equally  visionary  owing  to  the 
financial  crisis  of  1837,  went  down,  suspending 
specie  payments,  bringing  loss  and  ruin  upon 
thousands.  Captain  Gear,  who  had  some  means 
of  his  own,  saved  something  out  of  the  wreck.  He 
owned  a  number  of  acres  of  land  south  of  Gear 
street.  When  the  Illinois  Central  reached  Ga- 
lena their  route  over  the  river  passed  through  the 
captain's  land  at  a  rocky  point  where  there  was  a 
deep  cut  of  some  40  to  50  feet.  I  think  he  was 
awarded  $20,000  first  as  damages.  A  most  ex- 
travagant price,  and  with  the  proceeds  he  built 
himself  a  large  substantial  brick  house  under  the 
bluff  overlooking  the  railroad.  Sometime  after 
the  road  was  built  the  Captain  discovered  that  the 
track  of  the  road  at  the  east  end  of  the  cut  for  a 
distance  of  about  50  feet  in  length  and  two  feet 
wide  was  on  his  land.  He  demanded  a  round 
sum  as  damages,  which  the  road  refused  to  pay. 
To  force  them  to  pay  he  planted  a  strong  post 
close  to  the  track  and  hitched  a  heavy  chain  to 
the  post  and  track.  The  road  set  a  few  men  to 
work  on  the  other  side  and  cuttingdown  the  rocky 
bank  quietly  moved  the  rails  off  his  ground,  much 
to  the  disgust  of  the  valiant  captain.  He  was  a 
visionary  obstinate  man,  but  withal  had  many 
good  traits  of  character.  His  brother  an  Episco- 
pal clergyman,  occasionally  preached  in  Galena. 


Ill 

He  was  chaplain  at  Fort  Snellingfor  some  years, 
and  the  father  of  Governor  Gear  of  Burlington, 
Iowa. 

About  this  time  or  one  or  two  years  later  Joseph 
P.  Hoge,  a  noted  lawyer,  came  here.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  congress  in  1844,  I  think,  later  he 
went  to  California  and  became  very  prominent, 
taking  a  leading  part  in  the  politics  of  that 
state.  Sam  Wilson,  who  was  his  law  part- 
ner, went  with  him  and  was  president  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  held  a  few  years  ago,  Judge 
Thomas  Brown  was  the  father-in-law  .of  Hoge. 
He  was  a  character  in  his  way,  many  amusing 
anecdotes  are  told  about  him.  He  was  a  man  of 
strong  natural  sense,  but  somewhat  illiterate.  A 
man  in  one  of  the  middle  counties  of  the  state  was 
arraigned  for  murder.  The  jur}7  brought  him  in 
guilt)7,  and  the  punishment  was  death.  The  old 
judge  said  to  him,  "Smith  the  jury  have  found 
you  guilty,  I  feel  sorrow  for  you,  butyou  must  be 
hung.  Now  what  time  would  you  like  to  be 
hung?"  Smith  replied  he  "did  not  care."  "Well, 
you  will  be  hung  on  the  27th  of  June.  Mr.  clerk, 
please  look  and  see  if  the  27th  comes  on  Sunday, 
The  prosecuting  attorney  says  "Judge  it  is  usual 
to  make  some  remarks  to  prisoners  who  are  under 
sentence  of  death."  "Oh,  Smith  understands  it.  He 
knows  he  is  to  be  hung  on  the  27th  of  June.  You 
understand  it  that  way}  don't  you  Smith?" 

The  Judge's  circuit  covered  a  number  of  coun- 


112 

ties  in  Northern  Illinois,  including  Rock  Island 
and  Henry  counties.  While  holding  court  in 
Henry  county,  a  number  of  Galena  lawyers  were 
down,  and  Joe  Knox,  Jos.  Wells  and  a  young  law- 
yer, L.  B.  WTaite,  of  Rock  Island.  Wai te  was  always 
showing  off  his  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin. 
One  night  when  they  all  had  their  lodging  in  a 
large  room  of  the  hotel,  Mr.  Waite  after  asking 
the  judge  a  number  of  questions,  says  "Judge  how 
would  you  render  this  sentence."  "The  monelleri 
ninspresus."  "Well,  Mr.  Waite,  I  think  a  free 
translation  would  be:  The  more  you  cry  the  less 

you ."     A  roar  greeted  this   reply  of  the  old 

Judge  and  some  of  the  lawyers  rolled  out  on  the 
floor  in  their  glee,  and  there  was  not  much  sleep 
in  that  room  for  some  hours.  The  story  stuck  to 
young  Waite  for  a  long  time. 

Thompson  Campbell  a  brilliant  young  lawyer 
came  to  Galena  from  Pittsburg,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  congress  for  one  or  two  terms.  He 
was  an  eloquent  public  speaker  and  were  it  not 
for  his  dissipated  habits,  he  might  have  become 
the  foremost  man  in  the  state.  His  house  adjoin- 
ed mine  on  the  steep  side  of  the  hill.  About  the 
time  that  it  was  left  to  the  people  to  vote  on  a  pro- 
hibitary  law  he  had  reformed,  and  I  went  with 
him  over  a  part  of  the  country  trying  to  arouse 
the  voters  in  favor  of  the  law.  When  the  day  of 
election  came  I  stood  at  the  polls  all  day  challeng- 
ing many  foreigners  who  had  no  right  to  vote, 


113 

who  were  brought  there  by  the  saloon  men.  The 
measure  was  defeated  by  an  overwhelming  major- 
ity in  the  state.  This  measure  of  reform  has  not 
been  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people  since. 
Genial  Tom  Campbell  emigrated  to  California 
some  years  later,  and  died  the  re  so  me  fifteen  years 
ago. 

Judge  Drummond  and  Wm.  H.  Bradly  were 
living  in  Galena  at  this  time.  Mr.  Bradly  was  for 
many  years  clerk  of  our  Circuit  Court  in  JoDaviess 
County.  When  Mr.  Drummond  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  United  States  court  at  Chicago,  Brad- 
ly was  selected  by  him  as  clerk  of  that  court,  a 
position  that  he  held  until  a  short  time  before  his 
death  which  occurred  in  1890.-  Judge  Drummond 
resigned  his  position  some  years  ago  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Judge  Blodgett.  They  both  were  very 
able  men  and  were  recognized  as  the  ablest  of  any 
in  the  West.  Another  keen  shrewd  lawyer  whom 
I  knew  in  1834  that  I  forgot  to  mention,  who  re- 
sided in  Galena  was  Ben  Mills  who  was  consider- 
ed the  most  astute  lawyer  in  Northern  Illinois. 

In  1844  I  went  into  partnership  with  Edward 
Hempstead,  the  son  of  Chas.  S.  Hernpstead,  who 
settled  in  Galena  in  about  1828  coming  from  St. 
Louis.  He  was  the  brother  of  Edward  Hemp- 
stead,  a  prominent  man  in  the  early  history  of  St. 
Louis,  and  was  a  representative  to  congress  from 
that  state  soon  after  it  was  admitted  into  the 
the  Union.  We  neither  of  us  had  much  capital 


114 

to  start  upon,  but  were  always  able  to  get  all  the 
funds  necessary  to  carry  on  our  business^  of  our 
good  friends,  Henry  and  Nathan  Corwith.  My 
partner  in  1845  married  the  sister  of  the  Corwith's. 
Henry  Corwith  the  elder  brother  came  to  Galena 
in  1836.  He  opened  a  clothing  store  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Morrison's  ally.  I  have  often  heard  him  say 
that  the  first  work  he  done  was  to  plaster  the  store, 
they  had  learned  the  trade  on  Long  Island,  New 
York.  His  uncle  Chas.  H.  Rodgers  was  a  part- 
ner, who  lived  in  New  York.  He  and  his  brother 
continued  in  the  clothing  trade  until  about  1843. 
In  the  mean  time  they  had  gradually  drifted  into 
the  lead  trade  and  in  a  few  years  they  were  doing 
the  larger  share  of  this  lucrative  business  and  in 
the  meantime  established  the  bank  of  Galena. 
Samuel  Hughlett  another  strong  character,  an 
early  settler  in  this  region,  a  successful  miner  and 
smelter  took  a  large  block  of  stock  in  the  bank, 
which  is  still,  I  believe  held  by  his  heirs.  In  1846 
I  took  my  first  trip  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony, an 
excursion  party  of  some  50  ladies  and  gentlemen 
took  passage  with  Capt.  Orrin  Smith.  We  all  en- 
joyed the  beautiful  scenery,  all  along  our  course. 
It  was  the  first  of  July,  about  the  time  we  reached 
Prairie  Du  Chien,  a  cold  change  set  in.  In  a  few 
hours  after  the  most  of  us  were  taken  with  sneez- 
ing. The  attack*  was  something  like  la  grippe  of 
the  present  day,  only  it  was  soon  over,  and  was 
not  followed  by  any  bad  after  effects.  When  we 


115 

arrived  at  the  fort,  the  Captain  who  had  a  large 
quantity  of  freight  to  discharge,  gave  us  the  whole 
day  in  which  to  visit  the  falls,  also  putting  up  a 
good  substantial  lunch  for  our  dinner.  The  offi- 
cers of  the  fort  kindly  furnished  us  with  three  or 
four  mule  teams  and  rough  wagons  for  our  trip 
over  the  broad  beautiful  prairie,  between  the  fort 
and  falls.  We  did  not  stop  at  the  Minehaha  falls 
as  we  knew  nothing  about  them,  but  crossed  the 
stream  that  dashes  over  the  fallsjust  above.  We 
stopped  just  below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  on  a 
sloping  grassy  bank  on  the  north  shore  and  spread 
out  our  repast  on  the  grass,  enioying  the  music  of 
the  falling  waters.  The  fall  at  this  time  was  ne,ar- 
ly  a  perpendicular  one,  of  about  50  feet  before  the 
present  massive  work  that  at  present  controlls  this 
immense  power  was  built.  Much  of  the  loose  sand- 
stone rock  had  crumbled  away  and  within  a  few 
years  the  falls  were  no  longer  perpendicular.  The 
only  building  visible  in  this  neighborhood  was 
an  old  dilapidated  saw  mill,  erected  some  years 
before  by  the  government,  St.  Paul  had  no  ex- 
istance,  the  present  site  was  called  Pigs  Eye.  The 
origin  of  this  name  I  never  heard.  It  may  have 
been  named  from  a  cave  washed  out  by  a  small 
clear  stream  from  the  soft  white  sand  rock  that 
underlies  this  section  of  the  country.  The  cave  is, 
or  was  situated  a  short  distance  above  the  land- 
ing. The  opening  to  the  cave  looked  at  from  a 
distance,  looked  like  an  eye.  A  few  years  after,  the 


116 

engineer  in  chief  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad 
and  myself,  when  that  road  gave  an  excursion  to 
St  Paul,  explored  this  cave.  We  had  a  candle  to 
light  our  way.  After  going  in  about  100  feet  the 
passage  became  so  low  and  narrow  that  we  were 
glad  to  beat  a  retreat.  A  brewing  company  after- 
wards utilized  it  for  a  beer  cellar  excavating  the 
soft  sand  rock,  and  making  a  large  spacious  room 
in  front.  The  Indians  had  some  legend  connect- 
ed with  this  cave. 

During  the  winter  of  1846,  I  left  Galena  to  go 
East  to  buy  a  stock  of  goods  for  our  firm.  I  went 
all  the  way  by  stage  to  Buffalo,  passing  through 
Canada  by  way  of  Detroit,  traveling  night  and 
day,  a  very  uncomfortable  tedeous journey.  At 
Detroit  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bates  joined  us,  he 
was  a  leading  whig  editor  of  Detroit.  A  great  ad- 
mirer of  Horace  Greely,  with  whom  he  was  well 
acquainted,  having  been  an  apprentice  with  him 
in  some  office  a  few  years  before.  We  went  through 
Canada  on  runners,  when  near  Buffalo,  just  be- 
fore crossing  above  the  falls  our  sleigh  which  was 
a  covered  one  upset,  and  a  woman,  who  was  trav- 
eling with  us  had  to  be  pulled  out  of  the  top.  It 
was  at  night,  and  the  ice  was  running  quite  heavT 
ily,  it  seemed  to  me  a  very  perilous  trip,  but  we 
arrived  safely  on  the  other  side;  stopping  over 
night,  I  took  the  New  York  Central  for  Boston, 
iny  destination.  Arriving  there  I  presented  my 
letters  of  credit  and  introduction,  and  was 


117 

treated  very  kindly  by  Mr.  Winslow,  the  grocer 
whom  I  had  met  before  in  Galena.  While  in 
Boston  I  met  an  old  St.  Louis  acquaintance, 
Lyman  Farwell,  of  the  firm  of  L.  and  A.  G.  Far- 
well  in  St.  Louis,  and  of  Fay  &  Farwell  in  Bos- 
ton/ After  purchasing  what  goods  I  needed  in 
Boston,  I  started  on  my  way  to  New  Orleans  by 
way  of  New  York.  When  just  out  of  New  York 
we  encountered  a  furious  snow  storm  in  New 
Jersey,  and  were  detained  some  hours.  I  went  by 
way  of  Baltimore,  arriving  there  in  the  night, 
from  there  taking  the  stage  over  the  Alleghanies 
to  Pittsburg,  In  the  journey  from  New  York  to 
Pittsburg  F  had  for  a  companion  a  brother  of 
Charles  Atkinson,  a  genial  pleasant  gentleman. 
From  Pittsburg  to  New  Orleans  I  took  passage  on 
a  steam  boat  pay  ing  twelve  dollars  only,  for  a  cabin 
passage,  on  the  way  down  the  Mississippi,  the  boat 
stopped  one  morning  at  Baten  Rouge.  The  p^ene 
that  greeted  me  was  a  strange  one,  just  coming 
from  the  cold  icy  North.  The  weather  was  balmy 
as  spring,  the  song  of  the  birds  was  heard  coming 
from  the  bright  green  Magnolia  trees.  I  spent 
two  weeks  in  New  Orleans  with  my  cousin,  E.  B. 
Kimball,  buying  a  large  stock  of  groceries,  con- 
sisting of  sugar,  molasses  and  coffee.  I  was  not 
very  favorably  impressed  with  the  city  of  New 
Orleans,  with  its.ilat  wet  surface,  walking  along 
the  brick  pavements,  the  water  would  rise  up  be- 
tween the  bricks.  The  dead  had  to  be  laid  awav 


118 

in  vaults  built  on  a  heavy  wall  two  or   three   feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Most  of  the  steam  boats  engaged  in  the  lower 
Mississippi  trade  carried  both  frieght  and  passen- 
gers. We  took  a  very  large  and  roomy  boat  with 
good  accommodations  for  passengers.  The  boat 
I  came  up  on  was  full  of  passengers,  belonging 
mostly  to  St.  Louis.  Capt.  Orrin  Smith  and  Capt. 
Throckmorton  were  of  my  fellow  passengers.  We 
arrived  at  Cairo,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  on  the 
6th  of  March,  and  found  the  Mississippi  full  of  ice. 
We  were  detained  here  six  days  before  we  could 
proceed  on  our  journey.  The  evenings  were  us- 
ually passed  in  dancing.  WTe  had  ample  time  to 
explore  the  famous  town  of  Cairo,  with  its  high 
embankments,  raised  to  keep  out  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  floods.  The  lirst  work  done  here  in 
constructing  these  levees  was  performed  by  Capt 
King,  an  old  time  resident  of  Rock  Island.  While 
on  our  way  up,  Capt.  Smith  and  myself  made  a 
bargain  with  Capt.  Throckmorton  to  take  our 
freight  to  Galena  at  fifty  cents  per  100  pounds. 
When  we  arrived  at  St.  Louis  we  learned  that  the 
upper  river  was  very  low,  and  boats  were  asking 
and  getting  75  cents  per  lOO.  Capt.  Throckmor- 
ton performed  his  verbal  agreement  honorably 
and  fairly,  fortunately  meeting  a  slight  rise  at  the 
lower  rapids,  and  this  ended  my  long  weary  win- 
ter journey  of  two  months  or  more. 


119 
Mormanism  in  Illinois. 

In  1833  the  Mormons  emigrated  from  Western 
New  York,  to  Jackson  county,  Missouri.  They 
settled  at  and  began  to  build  a  town  called  Inde- 
pendence, Here  pretending  the  Lord  had  given 
them  the  whole  country,  they  being  his  saints, 
they  were  to  possess  the  whole  earth  eventually. 
The}'  committed  some  petty  offences.  They  were 
so  arrogant  that  people  became  disgusted  with 
them  and  drove  them  out.  They  next  settled  down 
in  Caldwell  and  Davis  counties,  and  built  up  a 
city  called  Far  West.  In  their  new  place  of  abode 
they  seemed  to  learn  nothing  from  their  disasters 
in  the  past,  but  still  claimed  to  be  God's  chosen 
people  and  that  they  were  entitled  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  land.  They  continued  to  be  more  and 
more  aggressive  in  their  demands.  It  was  alleg- 
ed that  they  were  continually  committing  depre- 
dations on  the  Gen  tiles,  by  robbery  and  petty  thefts. 
This  state  of  affairs  continued  for  two  or  three 
years.  The  clerk  of  the  county  being  a  Mormon 
would  serve  no  writs  against  a  Mormon.  They 
defied  the  state  all  through.  The  neighboring 
people  assembled  in  arms  lo  drive  them  out  of 
the  state.  Armed  bands  of  Mormons  were  roam- 
ing about,  plundering  and  robbing.  Armed  col- 
lissions  occurred  in  which  a  number  were  killed. 
Finally  Gov.  Boggs  called  out  the  military  under 
the  command  of  Gen.  Lucas  and  Gen.  Doniphan, 


120 

with  orders  that  the  Mormons  should  be  extermi- 
nated or  driven  from  the  state.  The  Mormons 
were  all  under  arms,  intending  to  resist,  but  they 
were  surrounded  by  an  overwhelming  force  in 
their  city  of  Far  West,  and  werecorapelled  to  sur- 
render at  discretion.  The  leaders  including  the 
prophet,  Joe  Smith  were  tried  by  court  marshall 
and  condemned  to  be  shot  for  treason.  Gen. 
Doniphan,  a  good  lawyer  knew  this  course  would 
not  be  lawful  or  right,  and  the  leaders  were  re- 
^nanded  to  jail  to  be  tried  for  murder,  arson  and 
robbery.  But  they  finally  made  their  escape  out 
of  the  state  before  they  were  brought  to  trial.  The 
whole  body  of  Mormons  came  to  Illinois  during 
the  years  ot  1838  and  1839.  While  I  was  at 
Louisiana  in  1838  I  saw  many  of  them  leaving 
the  state,  crossing  the  Mississippi  at  different 
points,  but  most  of  them  crossed  in  the  ferry 
at  Quincy.  I  saw  many  cases  of  suffering 
among  them  as  they  were  driven  out  in  the  win- 
ter season.  Fortunately  the  winter  was  a  mild 
one.  While  at  Louisiana  I  heard  one  of  them 
preach  a  sermon.  It  did  not  differ  much  from  an 
ordinary  orthodox  sermon.  In  holding  up  the 
terrors  of  hell  before  his  hearers  his  sermon  was 
much  the  same  as  the  orthodox  of  that  benight- 
ed time.  There  was  much  sympathy  felt  for 
them  by  the  people  of  Illinois,  as  it  was  thought 
they  were  driven  out  of  Missouri  on  account  of 
their  religion.  The}7  terminated  their  wander- 


121 

ings  by  settling  down  at  Xauvo>  a  beautiful  site 
on  a  sloping  elevation  at  the  head  of  the  lower 
rapids.  They  were  an  industrious  set  of  people 
and  soon  had  built  up  a  thriving  city.  They 
spread  all  over  the  county  of  Hancock,  and  were 
so  numerous  in  the  county  that  they  controlled 
the  courts  and  all  the  offices  of  the  countv.  The 
leaders  sent  out  missionaries  all  over  the  country 
and  some  to  Europe  to  gather  up  followers.  They 
were  so  successful  that  in  four  or  five  years  the 
Mormon  population  was  over  16,000.  They  had 
become  so  numerous  that  they  were  an  important 
factor  in  the  then  Congressional  district,  which 
at  this  time  embraced  all  the  river  counties  from 
Jo  Daviess  to  Adams,  besides  a  number  of  others 
lying  contiguous  on  the  east.  Before  this  in  all 
political  contests  they  had  vcted  as  a  unit  with 
the  Democratic  party.  Their  natural  affiliations 
are  all  that  way  and  always  will  be.  If  Utah  is 
admitted  as  a  state,  as  she  surely  will  be  by 
the  Democratic  party  now  in  power  in  the  year 
1894,  she  will  be  a  strong  Democratic  state  so 
long  as  Mormanism  dominates  in  that  state.  This 
old  party  is  the  party  of  "Rum,  Rebellion  and 
Romanism, "and  Mormanism  may  now  be  added. 
The  Mormans  had  become  disgusted  with  the 
treatment  they  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
Democrats  of  Missouri,  and  for  a  year  or  two  they 
voted  with  the  whigs,  but  under  the  adroit  man- 
ipulation of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  in  procuring  for 


122 

them  all  the  legislation  they  wished  for,  in  the 
charter  of  their  city  of  Nauvo,  giving  the  mayor 
almost  unlimited  power.  Power  to  suspend  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  many  other  unusual 
privileges,  authorizing  the  raising  of  the  Nauvo 
Legion,  an  independent  military  company  to  be 
tinder  the  control  of  the  mayor.  This  mayor  was 
the  prophet,  Joseph  Smith.  He  was  also  under 
the  charter  to  have  command  of  the  Legion,  with 
the  title  of  Lieutenant  General.  He  was  judge 
of  the  mayors'  court  and  chief  justice  of  the  mun- 
icipal court.  It  is  true  that  both  political  parties  had 
much  to  do  in  granting  these  unusual  privileges 
and  powers  to  the  Mormons,  but  the  Democrats 
were  the  dominant  party,  and  under  the  shrewd 
management  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  they  were 
kept  true  to  his  party,  as  the  sequel  proved.  Jos- 
eph P.  Hoge,  of  Galena,  and  Cyrus  Walker,  were 
opposing  candidates  for  congress,  both  went  to 
Nauvo  and  made  speeches,  both  were  promised 
the  Mormon  vote  by  Joe  Smith.  When  election 
day  came,  Joe  Smith  voted  for  Walker,  but  the 
rest  of  the  Mormon  vote  went  as  a  unit  for  Joseph 
P.  Hoge,  the  Democrat.  This  was  in  1842,  Hoge 
was  elected  by  some  3,000  majority.  The  Mor- 
mon vote  was  over  3,000,  and  decided  the  elec- 
tion. Joe  Smith  said  in  a  proclamation  to  his 
people,  that  Stephan  A.  Douglas  was  the  ruling 
spirit  in  the  legislature.  Soon  after  Governor 
Boggs  sent  a  requisition  on  Governor  Carlin,  of 


123 

Illinois,  demanding  the  arrest  and  delivery  of  Joe 
Smith,  and  other  leaders  of  the  Mormons  for  var- 
ious crimes  committed  in  Missouri.  Smith  and 
others  after  being  in  hiding  for  sometime  were 
arrested.  In  the  meantime  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
had  been  elected  Judge  in  the  third  district.  Joe 
Smith  was  brought  before  him  on  a  writ  of  ha- 
beas corpus,  was  discharged  from  custody  on  some 
trifling  technicality,  and  the  Mormons  were  per- 
mitted to  go  on  their  career  of  lawlessness,  under 
the  privileges  given  in  their  charter  they  set  all 
attempts  at  bringing  them  to  justice  'at  defiance. 

The  state  had  furnished  the  Nauvo  legion  with 
a  number  of  cannons  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pieces  of  small  arms.  They  were  accused  of  all 
sorts  of  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  about  this 
time  Joe  Smith  had  a  revelation  on  polygamy, 
and  had  sealed  to  himself  a  number  of  women, 
one  or  two  the  wives  of  men,  who  were  not  Mor- 
mons. 

An  intense  feeling  of  resentment  was  aroused 
against  them  on  account  of  their  arrogance  in 
claiming  that  they  were  the  chosen  people  of  the 
Lord,  and  that  they  would  soon  have  possession 
of  the  whole  earth.  Through  the  efforts  of  their 
missionaries,  large  accessions  were  made  to  their 
number  yearly.  Under  the  state  of  feeling  in  Han- 
cock and  adjoining  counties,  a  large  force  assem- 
bled at  Carthage,  determined  to  rid  the  country  of 
the  Mormons.  Governor  Ford  was  requested  to 


124 

call  out  the  military,  but  declined  to  do  so  until 
he  should  comedown  and  personally  investigate 
the  matter.  He  came  to  Nauvo  and  spent  some 
days  there  and  at  Carthage.  The  Mormons  had 
in  the  meantime  armed  the  legion  and  fortified 
the  city,  and  things  looked  decidely  warlike.  The 
troops  had  their  rendezvous  on  the  Mississippi,  a 
short  distance  below  Nauvo.  Governor  Ford  ad- 
dressed the  troops  assembled,  advising  modera- 
tion, and  using  only  legal  means.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Mormons  finding  resistance  was  useless 
against  the  Overwhelming  force  against  them,  had 
consented  to  the  arrest  of  their  leaders,  Joe  Smith 
and  his  brother,  Hiram,  and  other  leaders.  They 
were  taken  and  sent  undep  a  strong  guard  to 
Carthage,  and  lodged  in  jail,  the  .governor  prom- 
ised them  protection,  and  that  they  should  have 
a  fair  legal  trial.  This  promise  he  no  doubt  in- 
tended to  fulfil,  but  the  people  were  so  excited 
that  a  strong  force  of  men  was  organized,  who 
went  to  the  jail,  overpowered  the  guardsand  shot 
Smith  and  his  brother,  Hiram.  When  they  broke 
into  the  jail,  Smith  fired  a  number  of  shots  from 
a  six  shooter  furnished  him  by  his  friends,  wound- 
ing three  of  his  assailants,  John  Taylor  was  also 
severely  wounded.  Thus  this  arch  impostor  fell 
at  last.  The  Mormons  being  without  a  leader, 
there  arose  a  contest  for  the  leadership.  Sidney 
Rigdon  claimed  it  with  some  show  of  right  on 
his  side.  There  is  no  doubt  of  his  having  written 


125 

the  book  of  Mormaii,  as  a  pastime,  a  kind  of  a 
romance  imitating  the  style  of  language  in  which 
the  old  testament  is  written.  Rigdon  was  hot 
selected,  and  left.  The  elders  of  the  church  who 
were  many  of  them  absent  as  missionaries,  when 
they  returned  chose  Brigham  Young  as  their  head 
man.  He  afterwards  in  conducting  them  to  their 
new  home  at  Salt  Lake,  proved  himself  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  shrewd  native  sense,  a  born  leader  of 
men.  These  events  occurred  in  1844.  For  the 
next  two  years  the  Mormons  continued  to  have 
accessions  to  their  numbers,  and  the  same  bitter 
hostile  feeling  continued  to  exist  between  the  Mor- 
mons and  their  enemies,  murders  au,d  other  out- 
rages were  continually  occurring.  Bakinstoss  the 
sheriff  and  bosom  friend  of  Stephen  A.Douglas 
being  the  main  leader  in  all  the  Mormon  out- 
rages against  the  Anti-Mormons.  The  Mormon 
vote  was  wanted  in  the  presidential  election  of 
1844  by  the  Democrats,  and  they  received  it.  I 
have  said  nothing  about  the  peculiar  belief  of  the 
Mormons  as  that  is  pretty  well  known  by  every 
one  who  is  familiar  with  their  after  career 
at  Salt  Lake.  The  prophet,  Joseph  Smith, 
among  his  numerous  possessions  and  offices  own- 
ed a  small  steam  boat.  He  made  a  trip  to  Rock 
Island,  while  lying  at  the  landing  he  got  into  a 
playful  scuffle  with  one  of  the  men  employed  on 
the  boat.  In  the  contest  the  man  proved  to  be 
too  strong  for  Smith  and  he  was  thrown  overboard, 


126 

getting  a  good  ducking,  when  immerged  he  used 
some  terrible  cuss  words,  this  I  am  told  was  noth- 
ing unusual  for  him  to  do. 

In  1846  the  trouble  between  the  Mormons  and 
their  enemies  still  continued,  and  forces  on  both 
sides  were  gathered  together  and  faced  each  other 
in  mortal  combat.  A  number  of  cannons  were 
used  on  each  side,  but  the  firing  of  cannons  and 
small  arms  was  done  at  long  range  and  but  few 
lives  were  lost.  This  long  range  battle  lasted 
three  or  four  days.  A  delegation  from  Quincy 
came  up  and  effected  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  The 
Anti  Mormons  compelling  the  Mormons  to  agree 
to  leave  the  state,  and  they  at  onjje  commenced  to 
dispose  of  their  property,  but  they  were  allowed 
only  two  or  three  days  in  which  to  do  it.  Men 
women  and  children  were  driven  forth,  the  weak, 
the  sick,  the  feeble,  all  had  to  go  across  the  river 
into  Iowa,  where  they  erected  temporary  tents 
for  shelter.  It  being  a  sickly  season  hundreds  of 
them  died.  The  people  in  Northern  Illinois  were 
very  indignant  at  the  cruelty  practiced  by  the 
Anti  Mormon  mob  under  the  leadership  of  a 
Campbellite  preacher,  by  the  name  of  Brockman, 
a  man  with  an  infamous  character,  who  to  the 
credit  of  the  Campbellites  was  afterwards  expelled 
from  the  church.  The  mob  spirit  was  still 
rampant  after  the  Mormons  left,  the  attempt  made 
was  under  the  lead  of  the  infamous  Brockman  to 
drive  out  persons  who  had  settled  in  Nauvo  dur- 


127 

ing  the  last  year  or  two  for  purposes  of  trade. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  very  many  of  the  outrages 
which  were  said  to  have  been  done  by  the  Mor- 
mons were  committed  by  a  set  of  desperadoes  who 
harbored  around  the  lower  rapids  on  both  sides 
of  the  river.  It  was  a  locality  that  had  a  bad  rep- 
utation for  many  years.  Many  merchants  who 
had  settled  in  Nauvo,  who  where  not  Mormo-ns 
were  compelled  to  pack  up  and  leave.  The  steam- 
er Dubuque,  Capt.  Beebe  in  command,  coming 
along  duringthe  calmination  of  the  troubles,  was 
loaded  down  with  goods  belonging  to  grocery 
merchants  who  were  called  Jack  Mormons.  These 
goods  were  brought  to  Galena  and  turned  over  by 
the  captain  to  the  firm  of  McMaster  &  Hemp- 
stead. 

These  closing  scenes  of  Mormons  in  our  state 
occurred  in  1846.  This  was  a  year  of  great  floods 
in  all  the  Mississippi  Valley.  All  the  low  grounds 
were  completely  submerged.  The  river  in  many 
places  where  there  were  wide  bottoms  resembling 
a  great  lake,  doing  immense  damage,  destroying 
all  crops  on  the  lowlands.  The  water  at  St.  Louis 
was  44  feet  above  low  water  mark,  coming  up  and 
overflowing  the  second  stories  of  all  the  stores  on 
the  levee.  The  only  landing  the  boats  had  for  re- 
ceiving and  discharging  their  cargoes  was  on  the 
cross  street  half  way  up  between  First  and  Second 
streets.  I  visited  St.  Louis  during  this  flood, 
Kaskaskia  the  former  capital  of  the  state 'was  al- 


128 

most  swept  out  of  existance  by  this  flood  and  a  high 
wind  which  arose  in  the  night.  This  scene  is  ve^y 
graphically  described  by  Miss  Catherwood  in  her 
old  Kaskaskia.  ^^-  """5 — N 

Somewhere  along  in /die  earlv   forties    Dr.  Elv, 

v  "  ^*>*^^  ' 

of  Philadelphia,  a  p reach-or  bokfftging  to  the  New 

Presbyterian  church  undertook  to  found  a  colony 
in  Missouri  on  a  wide  beautiful  prairie  of  bottom 
land,  a  short  distance  below  Quincy.  It  was 
also  his  intention  to  found  a  college  at  Palmyra, 
a  short  distance  in  the  country.  This  town  was 
called  Marion  City.  When  this  city  was  laid  off 
the  water  was  low,  the  bank  of  the  river,  which 
was  the  level  of  the  prairie,  being  some  six  feet 
above  low  water.  It  was  planted  with  broad 
streets  and  a  number  of  public  squares.  A  large 
number  of  colonies  were  induced  to  come  from 
the  Eastern  states,  who  bought  lots  and  erected 
many  houses.  The  colonists  were  nearly  all  Anti 
Slavery.  In  a  year  or  two  the  water  came  up 
and  partially  flooded  a  portion  of  the  incipient 
city.  In  1846  the  water  covered  the  whole  town 
site  to  the  depth  of  8  to  10  feet,  and  many  of  the 
buildings  were  swept  away.  The  town  was  wholly 
abandoned  and  hardly  a  single  house  now  marks 
the  spot  where  this  city  of  such  large  hopes  and 
pretentious  stood.  Dr.  Ely  was  very  much  blam- 
ed for  deluding  so  many  people,  but  he  was  also 
a  loser,  both  in  money  and  reputation. 

Among  the  many  business  men  .whom  I   knew 


129 

many  years  ago  and  with  whom  I  had  business 
or  social  relations  I  would  name  in  Burlington, 
John  H.  Gear  &  Win  F.  Coobbaugh,  Scherick 
&  Dennis,  heavy  pork  packers,  very  honorable 
and  strait  business  men  and  W.  C.  Postlewaite. 
Burlington  was  noted  for  its  many  enterprising 
business  men,  and  the  town  at  one  time  in  the 
50s  gave  promise  of  being  the  leading  town  in 
the  state.  John  H.  Gear  was  a  successful  mer- 
chant, in  after  years  he  entered  political  life  and 
was  elected  a  member  of  congress  for  a  number 
of  terms,  also  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  in 
which  he  has  been  called  upon  to  act,  he  has  dis- 
charged his  duties  faithfully  and  honestly,  and  to- 
day I  learn  that  the  Iowa  legislature  has  just 
elected  him  senator.  Iowa  has  again  returned 
to  her  loyalty  to  the  Republican  party.  W.  F. 
Coobbaugh  a  bright  genial  Kentuckian  went  to 
Ohicago  many  years  ago  becoming  a  leading 
banker  there.  Many  years  ago  he  had  a  very 
tragic  end,  in  a  fit  of  despondency  brought  on  by 
some  cause  unknown  to  his  friends  he  went  down 
to  the  lower  subburbs  of  the  city  and  was  found 
lying  dead  at  the  foot  of  the  monument  of  Stephen 
A.  Douglas.  In  the  city  of  Muscatine,  once  called 
Bloomington,  I  knewSewell  Foster,  an  old  timer, 
a  horticulturist,  a  recognized  authority  in  that  de- 
partment. Green  &  Stone,  an  honorable  firm  of 
bankers,  John  Bennett  a  successful  man  and  pork 
packer.  The  town  of  Buffalo  was  settled  at  an 


130 

early  day.  A  Mr.  Clark,  the  first  settler  therer 
who  established  a  ferry  which  was  long  known 
as  Clark's  ferry,  his  son,  Capt.  Clark,  still  resides 
there  at  the  old  homestead.  An  old  schoolmate 
of  mine  in  New  York  a  successful  pilot  and  cap- 
tain in  the  trade  between  St.  Louis  and  Galena, 
entered  a  farm  of  400  acres,  lying  just  above  Buf- 
falo, which  I  think  is  the  most  beautiful  of  any  on 
the  shores  of  the  great  river,  rising  as  it  does  with 
a  gentle  swelling  slope  from  the  river,  back  nearly 
a  mile  to  the  level  prairie  that  stretches  away  to 
the  north.  His  farm  was  in  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
some  fifteen  years  ago.  He  was  driving  a  very 
spirited  team  attached  to  a  mower,  and  the  team 
started  to  run  throwing  him  onto  the  mower  and 
injuring  him  so  severly  that  he  died  soon  after. 
Another  beautiful  farm  belonging  to  an  old  friend 
and  pupil  of  mine  in  1831,  lies  just  below  Buffalo 
belonged  to  Capt.  Hiram  Bersie.  He  first  was  a 
pilot  and  then  built  a  boat  called  the  St.  Croix  in 
which  he  had  a  famous  race  with  Capt.  Smith 
Harris  from  St.  Louis  to  Galena,  both  coming  in 
so  near  each  other  at  the  end  of  the  race,  that 
Bersie  had  his  plank  run  out  only  five  minutes 
late.  He  afterwards  built  the  Bon  Accord  and 
the  Golden  Era.  James  Carter  was  interested 
with  him  in  both  the  boats.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  commanders  on  the  river,  very  quiet 
and  gentle  in  his  manners,  always  maintaining 


131 

perfect  dicipline  on  his  boat.  He  was  a  partner 
of  ours  in  the  War  Eagle  mills,  which  we  erected 
in  1849  in  Galena,  E.  B.  Washburn  being  the 
other  partner.  In  1856  he  had  a  paralytic  stroke 
which  unfitted  him  for  his  steam  boat  duties  and 
he  went  to  Europe  for  his  health,  taking  the 
Carlsbad  waters  while  there.  On  his  return  he 
was  able  to  get  about  on  crutches  for  two  or  three 
years,  but  he  had  one  or  two  other  strokes  and 
became  demented  before  the  close  of  his  life  which 
occurred  in  1859.  Another  beautiful  farm  lying 
some  seven  or  eight  miles  below,  belonged  to 
Legrand  Morehouse,  another  old  time  river  cap- 
tain. These  farms  were  all  entered  before  1840, 
by  these  river  pilots  and  captains,  who  in  passing 
up  and  down  the  river  could  take  their  pick. 
Capt.  Morehouse  lived  for  some  few  years  in  a  cot- 
tage just  west  of  Captain  Dodge's  house.  He  went 
to  Springfield,  Missouri,  some  ten  years  ago  to  live 
with  his  daughter,  and  died  there  two  or  three 
years  ago. 

Early  Settlement  of  Towns  Along  the  River. 

The  little  hamlet  of  Andalusia  with  its  high 
sounding  name  was  laid  off  and  named  by  Gen. 
N.  B.  Buford,  sometime  in  the  40s.  He  induced 
our  old  genial  friend,  Dr.  Bowman  to  settle  there 
at  an  early  day,  and  he  resided  there  most  of  the 
time  until  his  death,  which  occurred  a  few  weeks 


132 

ago.  John  Buffam  settled  there  at  an  early  day, 
engaging  in  the  mercantile  business,  dealing 
largely  in  country  produce.  He  moved  into  the 
interior  of  Iowa  a  few  years  ago. 

The  town  of  Lyons  as  I  have  before  stated  was 
laid  off  and  owned  by  Dennis  Warren  sometime 
in  the  40s.  It  was  a  good  site  for  a  town,  lying 
high  and  dry  above  high  water  mark  and  backed 
by  a  fine  farming  country.  It  attracted  a  good 
deal  of  attention  as  a  point  where  a  large  pros- 
perous city  might  be  built  up  in  the  future,  Den- 
nis did  nothing  however  towards  helping  build 
up  the  town.  He  sold  his  lots  for  the  best  price 
he  could  get,  making  no  improvements  himself 
except  a  small  store  on  Front  street  which  was 
occupied  by  a  brother  of  his.  It  was  here  that  he 
accumulated  a  large  share  of  his  property.  A  few 
enterprising  men  from  New  England  a  short  time 
after  Lyons  had  got  well  under  way  towards 
building  up  a  thriving  town,  bought  a  farm  about 
two  miles  below  Lyons,  where  the  present  city  of 
Clinton  is  situated.  These  men  were  far  seeing 
broad  minded  men,  and  laid  the  foundation  broad 
and  deep  for  their  future  city.  The  streets  and 
avenues  were  laid  out  from  80  to  150  feet  wide, 
with  a  number  of  public  squares,  One  large  pub- 
lic square  near  the  center  of  the  town  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  number  of  spacious  lot%  which 
were  dedicated  to  public  use  for  school  houses 
and  churches.  There  is  no  town  or  city  lying  on 


133 

the  river  that  is  so  well  and  admirably   laid    out 
to  meet  the  wants  of  the  future. 

Soon  after  the  advent  of  the  first  railroad  that 
reached  the  Mississippi  river,  a  railroad  com- 
pany was  quietly  organized  by  these  far  seeing 
Clintonians  to  build  a  road  out  west  of  the  young 
city.  In  a  year  or  two  40  miles  was  completed 
and  in  operation,  bringing  to  the  town  a  large  ac- 
cession of  trade  and  traffic.  Much  of  this  had 
heretofore  gone  to  Lyons.  In  a  short  time  two 
immense  saw  mills  were  built  by  Young  &  Co., 
and  by  Lamb  &  Co.  The  output  of  these  mills 
has  been  for  many  years  the  largest  of  any  on  the 
upper  river,  and  many  other  manufactories  were 
put  in  successful  operation.  The  first  settlers,  of 
Clinton  were  mostly  from  New  England  and  New 
York.  The  first  settlers  of  Lyons  were  also  most- 
ly of  the  same  class  and  Lyons  would  probably 
have  kept  the  lead  in  the  race  had  it  not  been  for 
the  dead  weight,  the  incubus  they  to  carry,  in  the 
person  of  Dennis  Warren,  who  would  make  no  im- 
provements and  opposed  all  that  would  involve 
increased  taxation.  Rock  Island  has  labored  for 
many  years  under  the  same  incubus  in  the  per- 
son of  Bayley  Davenport,  who  owned  so  many 
choice  tracts  of  land  in  and  about  the  city  which 
he  would  not  sell  or  improve.  Since  his  death 
some  of  his  vast  estate  in  land  has  been  disposed 
of  and  in  consequence  the  old  fogy  town  has  im- 
proved more  in  the  last  two  years  than  in  any 


134 

ten  years  of  its  past  history;  but  more  of  this  here- 
after. Cordova  in  the  upper  part  of  Rock  Island 
county  was  settled  and  occupied  in  an  earl}r  day, 
mostly  by  the  numerous  Marshall  family  some  of 
them  living  in  the  village  and  two  or  three  of  the 
brothers  occupying  large  new  improved  farms  in 
the  township.  They  came  from  Pennsylvania 
originally.  The  town  of  Albany  was  at  one  time 
some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  quite  a  thriving  vil- 
lage in  Whiteside  county.  Among  its  prominent 
business  men  were  Mcllvian  and  Happer.  M.  S. 
Tuller  and  a  Mr.  Barnes,  who  for  many  years  kept 
a  good  hotel  there,  but  this  old  town  like  nearly 
all  others  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  has  all 
gone  to  decay  and  ruin.  The  next  town  above, 
Fulton  in  the  same  county,  was  very  flourishing 
soon  after  the  Northwestern  railroad  reached  the 
Mississippi,  a  large  grain  elevator  was  put  up  to 
store  the  grain  coming  from  Iowa.  Col.  John 
Demerit,  the  father  of  our  former  state  treasurer 
put  up  a  large  costly  hotel,  a  very  beautiful  stone 
structure  which  in  later  years  was  occupied  as  a 
military  training  school,  after  it  ceased  paying 
as  a  hotel,  when  the  town  began  to  decay,  after  the 
Northwestern  crossed  with  the  bridge  to  Clinton. 
Lately  it  has  taken  a  new  lease  of  life  since  an- 
other railroad  has  entered  its  borders,  crossing  the 
river  over  a  high  bridge  erected  on  the  high  point 
oiland  just  above  town. 

Savanna  thirty  miles  below  Galena  had  a  few 


135 

-settlers  as  early  as  1835.  A  Mr.  Pierce  settled 
there  in  1832.  He  was  the  father  of.  Wm.  B.  Pierce, 
who  was  sheriff  of  Carroll  county  for  some  years. 
L.  H.  Bowen  who  owned  the  lower  part  of  the 
town,  and  at  one  time  was  largely  engaged  in 
merchandise  and  milling,  was  a  very  enterprising 
man  and  done  all  he  could  to  build  up  the  town. 
He  alvvays  thought  its  situation  was  some  thirty 
miles  nearer  Chicago,  and  the  great  lakes  would, 
when  railroads  reached  the  Mississippi,  give  it  a 
decided  advantage  as  a  railroad  point  over  any 
other.  Had  he  lived  a  few  years  longer  he  would 
have  seen  his  anticipations  realized.  Savanna  is 
now  a  great  railroad  center  and  Mr.  Bowen's  end 
of  the  town  is  now  well  built  up.  The  two  Rhodes 
brothers,  Thomas  and  John  came  there  at  an  ear- 
ly day,  John  was  sheriff  of  the  county  at  onetime. 
They  both  in  later  years  built  a  number  of  steam 
boats.  Connected  with  them  in  the  boating  interest 
was  Geo.  W.  Jenks,  of  Savanna,  and  Jerry  and 
Dr.  Woods,  of  Sabula.  The  Rhodes  brothers  both 
had  command  of  the  boats  they  built.  Thomas 
was  president  of  the  northern  line  with  head 
quarters  at  St.  Louis  for  many  years.  They  were 
both  enterprising  men  and  were  favorably  known 
all  along  the  upper  river.  Menard  Dupuis  a 
Frenchman  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  who  came  there  from  Ga- 
lena. Dr.  Woodruff  who  married  a  daughter  of 
my  old  time  friend,  Mr.  Eddows,  settled  there 


136 

about  1850.  John  Eddows  went  there  at  about 
the  same  time.  Dr.  Woodruff  and  John  Rhodes 
are  both  still  living,  I  had  a  very  pleasant  inter- 
view with  them  both  last  summer  on  my  way  to- 
my  old  home,  Galena.  Jerry  Woods  and  his 
brother  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  Sabula, 
and  were  for  a  long  time  engaged  in  milling  and 
merchandise.  I  first  saw  the  site  of  the  town  of 
Bellevue  in  the  summer  of  1834.  The  house  of 
Little  &  Wann,  of  Galena,  sent  L.  H.  Bowen  and 
myself  with  two  others  down  there  to  survey  one 
mile  square  as  a  claim  for  smelting  purposes,  as 
the  early  smelters  were  allowed  a  certain  number 
of  acres  of  woodland  adjoining  their  furnaces. 
There  had  been  some  small  discoveries  of  lead  ore 
made  near  there.  The  survey  took  in  the  beauti- 
ful valley  lying  between  the  high  bluffs  which 
bound  each  side  of  the  mill  stream  that  flows 
through  the  valley.  We  were  there  two  days 
sleeping  on  the  floor  of  an  unoccupied  cabin  that 
we  found,  the  only  house  to  be  seen  in  the  whole 
valley.  Some  years  after  this,  this  valley  with 
its  fine  water  power  and  picturesque  situation  at- 
tracted a  number  of  settlers.  Among  the  rest,  one 
Brown,  who  kept  a  hotel  and  store.  He  had  not 
been  there  long  before  he  drew  around  him  a 
number  of  lawless  characters,  horse  thieves  and 
counterfeiters.  So  many  of  this  class  gathered 
there  that  they  became  a  menace  and  terror  to  all 
the  Idw  abiding  people  in  Jackson  county.  A 


137 

large  force  of  the  people  in  the  town  and  country 
was  gathered  together  by  Mr.  Warren,  the  sheriff, 
and  they  surrounded  Brown's  hotel.  He  had 
gathered  a  number  of  desperadors  about  him  and 
armed  them  expecting  an  attack.  The  first  shot 
was  fired  from  the  hotel  and  a  pitched  battle  took 
place,  a  number  were  killed  arid  wounded  on 
each  side.  The  sheriff  and  his  party  drew  off  near 
night  expecting  to  get  more  reinforcements.  They 
came  back  in  the  morning  with  an  increased 
force,  s®  strong  that  Brown  and  his  party  agreed 
to  capitulate,  provided  they  were  allowed  to  go 
without  arrest.  To  save  further  loss  of  life  the 
sheriff  consented  to  this.  This  occurred  in  1840. 
Old  Jacob  Norris  made  his  appearance  in  Rock 
Island  a  day  or  two  after  this  occurrance,  wheth- 
er he  belonged  to  the  gang  of  outlaws  or  not,  I  do 
not  know.  He  took  their  part  at  any  rate  when 
he  arrived  here.  Iowa  as  well  as  Illinois  was  in 
fested  with  many  lawless  characters,  many  of  this 
Brown  gang  took  up  their  abode  at  Comanche, 
which  had  the  the  name  of  being  the  headquar- 
ters of  all  the  bad  rough  characters.  There  was 
an  old  hardened  counterfeiter  who  had  a  den 
somewhere  north  of  there  in  the  dense  woods 
where  he  made  a  business  of  making  a  very  good 
imitation  of  American  half  dollars,  not  easy  to 
detect.  I  have  forgotten  his  name,  he  lived  a 
while  near  the  close  of  his  career  just  below  Cor- 
dova.  Capt.  Potter  and  his  son-in-law,  Lancaa- 


138 

ter,  came  to  Bellevue  somewhere  in  the  40s,  and 
improved  the  water  power,  putting  up  a  very  good 
substantial  grist  mill,  sending  large  quantities  to 
the  Galena  market,  which  always  met  with  a 
ready  sale,  as  it  was  always  uniformly  good,  true 
to  the  brand.  John  R.  Perkins,  who  was  a  clerk 
for  my  firm,  settled  there  after  acting  as  cashier 
for  the  Galena  bank  for  many  years. 

In  writing  about  the  Mormons  I  did  not  men- 
tion the  massive  costly  temple  they  erected  upon 
the  highest  ground  in  their^city.  It  presented  a 
very  imposing  appearance  seen  from  the  river. 
It  was  constructed  from  hewn  stone  taken  from 
the  quaries  just  above  the  city,  a  compact  light 
colored  lime  stone.  It  was  not  modeled' after  any 
particular  style  of  architecture,  and  was  rather 
unique  in  its  style.  On  its  east  side  was  a  huge 
representation  of  the  noon  day  sun  with  brilliant 
golden  rays.  In  the  basement  was  the  lavatory 
or  babtismal  font,  cut  out  of  massive  limestone, 
resting  on  the  necks  of  two  enormous  oxen  carved 
out  of  the  same  material.  A  few  years  after  the 
regime  of  the  Mormons,  it  was  burned  down  by 
an  incendiary.  It  was  destroyed,  it  was  thought, 
either  by  the  Anti-Mormons,  who  feared  the  re- 
turn of  the  followers  of  the  prophet  or  by  the 
Mormons  themselves  to  prevent  its  being  used  by 
the  Gentiles  in  after  years.  The  cut  stone  was 
hauled  away  to  enter  into  the  structure  of  cellars 
of  the  people  in  the  country,  very  many  of  the 


139 

buildings  went  into  ruin  or  were  torn  down  and 
hauled  off.  Not  long  after  the  departure  of  the 
Mormons  a  colony  of  French  cummunists  called 
Icarians,  bought  a  large  share  of  the  site,  and 
some  lands  adjoining,  and  commenced  the  culture 
of  grapes.  Their  possessions  were  all  held  in 
common.  For  a  while  the  little  colony  continu- 
ed to  flourish.  During  the  grape  season  large 
quantities  were  shipped  north  to  Iowa  and  Minne- 
sota. The  little  colony  after  a  while  getting  into 
some  dis&ension  among  their  leaders  was  dissol- 
ved as  a  community,  and  now  this  famous  place 
in  the  early  history  of  our  state  is  occupied  by 
only  a  few  scattering  houses.  It  was  often  men- 
tioned as  a  suitable  site  for  the  capitol  of  the  na- 
tion, should  the  capitol  ever  be  moved  from  its 
present  location.  Some  twenty  years  ago  the  pro- 
ject of  moving  the  National  Capitol  to  some  point 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  was  much  agita- 
ted by  some  Western  papers,  very  earnestly  by 
the  newspapers  published  in  St.  Louis.  That  city 
being  the  point.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  the 
capitol  will  ever  be  moved  from  where  it  now  is 
so  long  as  we  continue  an  united  nation. 

Noted  Galena  Men  From  1840  to  1850. 

To  return  to  the  hiitory  of  Galena  after  this  long 
diversion.  A  large  number  of  wholesale  houses 
were  established  within  thenextsix  oreightyears 


140 

in  order  to  supply  the  great  influx  of  trade  coming 
to  Minnesota  and  Northern  Iowa:  In  wholesale 
groceries,  Campbell,  Smith  &  Jones; Lorain  &Co.; 
H.  F.  McCloskey;  Stillman  &  Rood;  R.  S.  Harris 
&  Co.;  Henry  and  Miers  F.  Truett;  McMaster  & 
Hempstead,  nearly  all  located  along  the  levee.  In 
dry  goods,  L.  S.  Felt  &  Co.;  Meritt  &  Cowls,  Fos- 
ter &  Stall;  Bloomer  &  Holmes,  besides  a  number 
of  others  in  hardware  and  retail  dry  goods.  The 
little  narrow  levee  was  crowded  with  boats  com- 
ing in,  and  going  out  in  all  direction.  Main  street 
and  along  the  levee  was  so  crowded  in  the  busy 
season,  that  it  was  difficult  to  pass  along  the  side 
walk.  The  ladies  generally  deserting  it  and  tak- 
ing to  the  upper  street.  Goods  would  often  lie  on 
the  levee  all  night.  The  piles  of  lead  would  be 
covered  with  the  lighter  kinds  of  the  cargoes.  We 
occupied  the  large  brick  store  at  the  head  of  the 
levee  and  had  a  better  chance  than  others,  by. 
having  streets  on  both  sides  of  our  store.  When 
the  Mexican  War  commenced  in  1846,  a  company 
of  volunteers  was  raised  in  Galena.  H.  W.  How- 
ard was  Captain,  and  Calmese  Wight  was  elected 
first  lieutentant,  Dr.  A.  T.  Crow,  a  brother  of  Way- 
man  Crow,  of  St.  Louis,  went  along  as  sur- 
geon. He  was  a  very  skillful  physician,  and  we 
disliked  to  have  him  leave  the  town.  These  three 
officers  all  returned  to  Galena  safe  and  sound  after 
the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Howard  was  afterwards 
appointed  postmaster  under  Buchanan's  admin- 


141 

istration.  Young  Wight  afterwards  married  the 
daughter  of  Judge  Stone,  who  was  or^e  of  the  circuit 
judges  before  Judge  Brown's  time.  The  lawyers 
practicing  at  the  Galena  bar  at  this  time,  were 
Thomas  Drummond,  and  John  M.  Douglas,  who 
moved  to  Chicago  in  1849,  acting  as  attorney  for 
the  Illinois  Central  rail  road,  for  a  few  years,  and  in 
after  years  was  elected  president,  in  which  capac- 
ity he  acted  for  some  years.  He  was  a  very  able 
lawyer,  and  soon  had  a  very  large  lucrative  prac- 
tice. He  was  always  in  demand  when  there  was 
any  litigation  in  regard  to  the  title  to  mines. 
When  he  took  a  case  of  this  kind  he  would  usual- 
ly go  down  into  the  mine  and  thoroughly  post 
himself  in  all  the  surroundings. 

E.  B.  Washburn  and'C.  S.  Hempstead. 

r 

—  I  \ 

Mr.  Washburn  did  not  practice  so  much  in  tnfe 
courts,  his  business  was  mostly  office  work  and 
collecting.  I  think  he  was  employed  by  an  East- 
ern agency  to  report  the  standing  of  our  Galena 
merchants,  at  any  rate  one  of  our  merchants 
whose  credit  was  somewhat  shaky  thought  he 
was.  His  office  was  over  our  store.  Paddy  Gar- 
nes  the  individual,  came  into  the  office,  bringing 
a  backer  with  him,  Jess  Morrison.  I  was  sitting 
there.  He  commenced  abusing  Washburn,  threat- 
ening him  with  personal  chastisement.  Wash- 
burn  seized  a  wooden  chair  and  brought  it  down 


142 

upon  him  with  force,  Games  was  a  large  brawny 
man,  but  Washburn  siezed  him,  and  pushing  him 
towards  the  stairway,  threw  him  over  the  railing, 
and  he  went  tumbling  down  the  stairs,  saying  as 
he  went,  "I  will  see  you  again."  His  backer,  Mor- 
rison did  not  interfere.  Games  failed  a  few 
months  after,  he  was  engaged  in  dry  goods  trade. 
Gambling  and  to  much  whiskey  ruined  him.  A 
little  after  this  Jess  Morrison  was  a  candidate  on 
the  Democratic  ticket  for  sheriff  of  that  county, 
he  was  badly  beaten.  I  had  made  some  remarks 
about  him,  not  very  favorable.  He  called  on  me 
one  day,  accompanied  by  Jim  Griffith,  a  noted 
saloon  keeper  and  gambler,  and  asked  me  if  I  said 
so  and  so.  I  told  him  "I  did,  and  what  I  said 
was  true."  Griffith  said,  I  would  be  held  person- 
ally responsible  sah.  I  was  not  afraid  of  their 
threats  as  John  R.  Perkins  stood  near,  who  would 
soon  clear  them  both  out,  if  necessary.  I  heard 
no  more  about  being  held  personally  responsible. 
JimGriffithwasaTennessian,  had  a  plausible  man- 
ner, a  dangerous  man,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Democracy.  Paddy  Games  did  not  see  Wash- 
burn  again.  A.  L.  Holmes  was  another  lawyer, 
with  butjlittle  practice,  other  pursuits  occupying 
his  time.^M.  Y.  Johnson,  who  married  the  daugh- 
ter of  Col.  A.  G.  Wight,  had  a  very  fair  practice, 
was  in  many  respects  an  agreeable  companionable 
man,  rather  vain  and  boasting  in  his  manner. 
This  habit  of  boasting  of  what  he  could  do  and 


143 

of  the  influence  he  had  in  the  early  days  of  the 
rebellion,  I  will  narrate  further  on.  He  was  a 
Kentuckian  by  birth.  E.  A.  Small  commenced 
the  practice  of  law  in  Galena,  he  was  a  cultured 
genial  gentleman,  a  close  friend  of  mine.  He 
moved  to  Chicago  some  years  later  and  became  a 
leading  lawyer  in  that  city.  Some  six  or  eight  of 
us  used  to  often  meet  at  each  other's  houses  with 
wives,  and  occasionally  some  young  ladies,  would 
join  us  in  a  social  dance,  W.  W.  Huntingtonand 
wife,  E.  A.  Small  and  his  wife,  myself  and  wifer 
Augustus  Chetlain  and  Capt.  Lundy,  who  was  a 
very  fine  musician  played  the  violin  and  called 
out  the  dances.  We  who  met  here  were  all  close 
and  intimate  friends.  Capt.  Lundy  established 
the  first  telegraph  line  in  Northern  Illinois  called 
the  Illinois  and  Mississippi,  I  think  Judge  Caton 
was  at  the  head  of  the  company,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Ottowa.  I  took  a  few  shares  of  stock,  which 
I  held  until  1888,  long  after  it  was  merged  into 
the  Western  Union,  getting  usually  2  per  cent, 
dividend  on  each  share  of  $25.  Thompson  Camp- 
bell I  have  already  spoken  of  at  length,  but  one 
more  item  about  him,  in  the  congressional  elec- 
tion for  1856.  He  and  E.  B.  Washburn  were  the 
opposing  candidates.  Campbell  had  been  elected 
two  years  before  by  a  very  large  majority  and  he 
was  very  confident  of  his  election  this  time.  The 
evening  of  the  election  he  says  to  some  of  his 
friends,  "come  boys  I  am  elected,  and  it  is  my 


144 

treat".  The  news  came  along  the  next  day  that 
Washburn  was  elected  by  a  small  majority,  as  a 
Republican.  The  district  had  been  carried 
by  the  Democrats  for  some  years  past. 

'in  1849  E.  B.  Washburn,  Captain  Hiram  Ber- 
sie  and  our  firm  erected  a  large  stone  flour 
mill  just  below  town  on  the  river,  at  a  cost  of  $25,- 

000  when  finished,  with  a  capacity  capable  of  turn 
ing  out   200  barrels  of  flour  in  twenty-four  hours, 
it    was  the   most   complete  mill   on    the   upper 
Mississippi.     The  supply  of  wheat  near  at   home 
was  wholly  inadequate  to  keep  it  running  to  its 
full  capacity,  so  I  had  to  buy  wheat   at   various 
points  along   the   river,   at    Albany,    Dubuque, 
Wapeton,  Clayton,  Guttenburg  and   Prairie   Du 
Chein.     I  spent  nearly  all  winter  in  1851  in   buy- 
ing wheat   all  along  the  line   of  the  Wisconsin 
river  buying  at  Decorah,  Prairie  Du  Sac,  Portage 
City  and  at  the  Dells  of    the  Wisconsin,     I  pur- 
chased a  number  of  thousand  bushels,  and  in  the 
spring  we  started  in   to   bring  the  wheat  out  on 
the  Badger  State,  a  boat  that  the  firm  of  McMas- 
ter  and   Hempstead   had  built   in   Pittsburg,  by 
Capt.  Humbertson,  who  was   interested   with  us. 

1  made  one   trip   on  the   Badger  State,   she  was 
crowded  with  raftsmen  who  were  on  their  return 
trip  from  St.  Louis  to  the  upper   pineries.     They 
were  much  pleased  with  the  boat  as  she   was   a 
large  roomy  boat,  much  larger  than  any  that  had 
run  on  the  river  heretofore.     We  brought  back  a 


145 

large  cargo,  as  the  water  was  at  a  good  stage,  the 
river  falling  soon  after.  This  was  our  first  and 
last  trip  made  by  the  Badger  on  this  treacherous 
river  full  of  shifting  sand  bars.  During  the  win- 
ter while  buying  wheat  I  had  to  make  many  long 
tedious  trips  back  and  forth  between  Galena  and 
Prairie  Du  Sac,  I  recollect  I  rode  all  day  against 
a  north  wind  in  my  cutter  with  the  thermometer 
at  25  below,  stopping  occasionally  at  the  lonely 
farm  houses  to  warm.  In  crossing  the  Wisconsin 
on  the  ice  near  night,  in  sight  of  Sac  Prairie,  I 
froze  the  side  of  my  nose.  I  was  much  impressed 
with  the  peculiar  formation  of  the  country  in  this 
part  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  wi  th  its  rounded  hill 
surrounded  by  beautiful  circling  fertile  valleys. 
I  usualy  enjoyed  these  lonely  rides  in  midwinter, 
as  1  could  always  see  something  in  nature,  even 
in  dreary  winter  to  admire  and  enjoy.  The  many 
tinted  brown  Oak  leaves  clothing  the  steep  hills 
sides  in  their  settling  of  the  pure  white  snow.  Oc- 
casionally I  would  see  a  deer  or  two  bounding  off 
through  the  scrub  oaks  that  clothed  the  hill  sides. 
One  day  when  the  snow  was  lying  deep  on  the 
ground  I  started  across  the  country  at  Black  Earth 
Valley  to  reach  a  small  town  some  15  miles  east  of 
Sac  Prairie.  Night  overtook  me.  at  a  little  ham- 
let having  only  one  store  and  a  small  hotel  kept 
by  a  German,  I  saw  no  one  about  the  house,  when 
I  retired  to  my  room  at  ten,  only  the  man  and  his 
wife,  I  did  not  like  their  looks  and  finding  no  fast- 
10 


146 

ening  on  the  door  I  drew  the  bed  near  and  tied 
my  handkerchief  to  the  post  and  to  the  handle  of 
the  door,  as  I  had  a  large  amount  of  money  with 
me.  The  moon  was  shining  brightly,  and  in  the 
night  I  was  awakened  by  some  one  trying  to  open 
the  door,  he  pulled  it  open  two  or  three  inches 
and  I  saw  the  man's  face,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
saw  my  six  shooter  levelled  at  him  and  he  beat 
a  hasty  retreat.  The  room  was  almost  as  light  as 
day,  the  moon  was  shining  into  the  south  win- 
dow. In  the  morning  at  breakfast  there  was  no 
one  visible  about  the  house  except  the  man  and 
his  wife  and  I  made  no  enquiries  of  them 
about  the  occurrence.  I  learned  that  the  man 
had  a  bad  reputation  and  had  killed  a  peddlar 
for  his  money  a  short  time  before.  I  never  car- 
ried arms  before  or  since,  but  it  seemed  to  be  nec- 
essary for  me  to  do  so  at  this  time,  as  I  was  ob- 
liged to  carry  with  me  a  good  deal  of  money  to 
pay  for  the  purchase  of  wheat.  My  coming  into 
,the  Wisconsin  valley  purchasing  this  large 
amount  of  wheat  was  a  fortunate  thing  for  the 
farmers  and  merchants,  as  the  only  outlet  they 
had  for  their  surplus  wheat  was  the  limited  home 
market,  or  the  long  haul  to  Milwaukee.  I  paid 
40  to  50  cents  for  bushels.  We  did  not  succeed 
in  getting  the  wheat  all  out  the  first  season  and 
some  of  it  was  not  in  very  good  condition.  The 
next  year  two  small  steamboats  were  navigating 
the  Wisconsin  at  this  time.  The  Black  Hawk 


147 

and  the  Enterprise.  The  Black  Hawk  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Peter  Hall,  the  same  man  who 
made  so  many  trips  down  the  Mississippi  in  his 
little  boat  in  the  winter  season  collecting  Indian 
relics  and  curiosities  for  the  academy  of  science 
at  Davenport,  la.,  Tennessee  and  Alabama.  He 
is  still  living  at  Davenport,  and  his  little  old  for- 
lorn looking  boat  is  stored  in  the  rear  of  the  aca- 
demy. He,  during  the  many  winters  spent  in 
this  way  on  the  lewer  Mississippi  collected  a  very 
large  amount  of  ancient  Indian  Pottery  at  a 
small  expense  to  the  academy.  Captain  Gabbart 
who  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  Davenport, 
commanded  the  Enterprise.  This  boat  belonged 
to  the  Harrises  of  Galena.  The  mill  did  not  prove 
to  be  a  profitable  in  vestment,  it  was  too  large  for 
the  wants  of  the  country  at  that  time,  and  we 
sold  it  in  1864  to  a  woolen  mill  company  and 
that  failed  in  a  year  or  two,  like  so  many  woolen 
mills  that  were  started  all  over  the  West. 

About  this  time  we  put  up  a  packing  house 
just  below  town,  buying  a  piece  of  ground  of  Capt. 
Gear,  who  graded  and  paved  the  landing  in  front 
to  the  river.  This  was  the  first  pork  packing  done 
in  Galena.  With  buying  wheat  to  run  our  mill 
and  running  the  packing  house,  I  was  kept  very 
busy  in  buying  supplies  for  both  establishments* 


148 

Adventure  With  the  Indians  on  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi. 


At  the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  War,  Capt.  East- 
man, who  was  the  post  commandant  at  Fort 
Snelling  and  Lieut.  Hall,  the  second  in  command 
spent  some  weeks  in  Galena  on  recruiting  service, 
enlisting  a  number  of  soldiers  for  service  in  the 
U.  S.  army.  The  Winnebago  Indians  for  the 
last  two  or  three  years  had  been  giving  the  gov- 
ernment a  ^ood  deal  of  trouble  by  their  leaving 
their  reservation,  and  every  spring  returning  to 
their  old  haunts  on  the  Wisconsin  river  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Dells.  Captain  Eastman  re- 
ceived orders  to  have  them  all  return  to  their 
reservations  in  Minnesota,  and  as  the  Indians  re- 
fused to  inarch  to  their  reservations,  squads  of 
troops  were  employed  in  gathering  them  up  at 
different  points  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  tak- 
ing them  to  Wabashaw  prairie,  a  point  jast  be- 
low Lake  Pepin.  Here  the  Sioux  Indians  were 
to  meet  them  and  endeavor  to  make  an  amiable 
treaty  if  possible,  so  that  hereafter  they  might 
live  in  peace  with  each  other,  as  their  reservations 
were  near  each  other.  Capt.  Eastman  and  Lieut. 
Hall  went  up  on  a  boat  to  meet  the  two  tribes 
there  and  assist  in  making  a  treaty,  A  number 
of  lady  excursionists  went  along,  captain  East- 
man taking  with  him  a  few  men,  as  a  guard.  The 
boat  landed  about  a  mile  above  the  Indian  en- 


149 

campment,  Capt.  Eastman  told  the  ladies  that 
they  must  not  leave  the  boat  and  come  down  to 
the  encampment,  as  he  anticipated  there  might 
be  some  trouble  between  these  two  hostile  tribes. 
They  all  obeyed  the  captain's  order  exeept  one 
little  lady,  but  she  fearing  neither  the  captain  nor 
Indians,  leaving  her  little  girl  in  the  charge  of 
the  ladies,  who  tried  to  pursuade  her  not  to  go, 
started  down  and  passing  through  the  crowd  of 
Indians,  made  her  way  to  where  the  captain  was 
standing  and  said  to  him,  "I  have  come,  I  wish 
to  see  a  sight,  I  may  never  again  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing."  "My  dear  madam  why  did  you 
dare  to  come,  I  fear  there  may  be  trouble."  After 
a  good  many  speeches  were  made  an  agreement 
was  reached  by  the  two  tribes,  that  they  would 
live  in  peace  hereafter.  A  chief's  daughter  be- 
longing to  the  Sioux  was  given  in  marriage  to  a 
brave.  The  young  Indian  girl  was  decked  in  all 
the  splendor  of  savage  costume.  The  young 
braves  would  dash  upon  their  ponies  and  throw 
down  presents  at  the  feet  of  the  bride,  of  gayly 
colored  blankets,  wampum,  beads,  saddles  and 
ponies  were  scattered  around  her,  and  the  meet- 
ing of  the  tribes  terminated  happily  and  there 
has  been  peace  between  them  ever  since.  The 
little  woman  who  braved  the  genial  captain's  dis- 
pleasure was  called  "brave  squaw!"  "brave  squaw!" 
as  she  passed  through  the  Indian  crowds.  The 
other  ladies  regretted  that  they  did  not  go  and 


150 

enjoy  the  novel  sight.  My  wife,  who  was  among 
the  passengers  went  on  to  the  fort  and  stopped 
there  visiting  the  wife  of  Lieut.  Hall,  where  she 
spent  sometime.  I  joined  her  a  few  days  after  at 
the  fort;  while  there  we  took  the  only  conveyance, 
a  buggy  and  went  to  lake  Caroline  and  spent  the 
day  with  Mrs.  Hall  and  her  little  ones  on  the  banks 
of  the  beautiful  lake,  leaving  the  little  ones  pick- 
ing the  ripe  strawberries  which  were  found  in 
profusion  along  its  banks,  we  took  our  fishing 
poles  and  commenced  fishing  close  by  along  the 
pebbly  shores  of  the  lake.  We  saw  a  number  of 
beautiful  swans  in  the  distance  sailing  along. 
We  passed  a  delightful  day,  enjoying  intensely 
the  beauty  of  this  sylvan  scene,  unmared  by  the 
hand  of  man.  This  lake  arid  Lake  Calhoun  dis- 
charge their  waters  through  the  stream  that 
dashes  over  the  falls  of  Minnehaha.  We  passed 
most  of  the  way  along  its  banks  through  heavy 
timber;  we  occasionally  met  an  Indian  on  our 
route,  greeting  them  withafriendly  "How,"  which 
was  always  returned  in  the  same  way.  On  our 
way  back  we  stopped  at  the  falls,  descending  with 
difficulty  the  steep  rugged  bank  with  our  little 
ones,  a  scene  of  wild  beauty  greeted  us.  This 
stream  has  eat  its  way  through  the  shaley  rock 
for  over  a  mile  from  the  Mississippi,  making  a 
gorge  50  to  75  feet  high  and  into  this  deep  narrow 
chasm,  the  stream  pours  its  waters.  The  lower 
strata  of  the  underlying  rock  is  softer  and  more 


151 

shaley  than  the  upper  and  in  consequence  there 
is  quite  an  open  space  back  of  the  falls.  While 
we  were  standing  there,  Mrs.  Hall  challenged  me 
to  go  under  the  falls  and  cross  to  the  other  shore 
with  her.  My  wife  objected  strongly  to  the  wild 
adventure.  But  we  started  over  on  the  somewhat 
wet  and  slippery  path  and  reached  the  north 
shore  safely.  The  little  stream  was  quite  high  at 
the  time,  which  made  the  passage  the  more  dan- 
gerous. My  wife  hollowed  to  us  across  the  chasm 
that  we  must  not  attempt  to  come  back  the  same 
way,  that  I  must  carry  Mrs.  Hall  over.  There 
was  no  bridge,  and  the  north  bank  was  very  steep 
and  if  we  took  that  route  we  must  ford  the 
stream  above.  So  Mrs.  Hall  clasping  her  arms 
around  my  neck,  I  took  her  on  my  back  and 
•crossed  the  rapid  stream,  stumbling  over  the  loose 
rocks.  I,  with  some  difficulty  reached  the  other 
side  safely,  much  to  the  relief  of  us  all.  We  stay- 
ed at  the  fort  a  few  days.  This  fort  at  that  time 
was  the  best  built  fort  in  all  the  west,  with  heavy 
massive  stone  walls  with  one  heavy  massive  gate 
on  the  west,  the  only  place  of  egress.  The  quar- 
ters were  spacious  and  neat.  I  think  there  has 
been  no  material  change  made  since,  and  it  still 
is  a  point  worth  visiting  as  a  relic  of  early  times 
in  the  northwest.  At  another  time  a  few  years 
later  we  went  up  to  the  fort  on  a  steam  boat  that 
was  taking  supplies  there.  The  whole  flat  below 
the  fort,  between  the  fort  and  river  was  covered 


152 

with  Sioux  Indians,  at  least  two  thousand  of  them. 
They  had  congregated  here  to  receive  their  anu- 
ities.  We  passed  through  them  on  our  way  to 
the  fort.  The  other  ladies  on  the  boat  were  afraid 
to  pass  through  the  wild  Sioux.  The  little  woman 
was  greeted  again  with  "brave  squaw,"  as  she 
passed  to  the  fort. 

At  another  time  after  St.  Paul  had  received  its 
name  and  had  perhaps  oOO  inhabitants, a  number 
of  Indian  traders  lived  there  then.  Among  whom 
I  recollect  were  Mr,  Borup  and  Louis  Robair  or 
Roberts  (Roberts  Street  is  named  for  him.)  The 
Indians  had  gathered  there  on  the  high  bank 
overlooking  the  river.  :ri  what  was  then  the  lower 
part  of  town,  there  iv^ere  no  houses  along  here 
then.  They  had  collected  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  what  was  called  a  begging  dance.  The 
traders  were  there  in  force  with  presents  for  their 
friends,  the  Indians.  First  there  would  be  a 
short  dance,  the  Indians  dancing  around  in  a  cir- 
cle. Then  a  speech  from  some  chief,  reciting  his 
brave  deeds,  and  then  the  traders  would  bring 
forward  their  presents  of  sugar,  corn,  tobacco, 
flour  etc.,  and  the  squaws  would  come  up  from 
their  places  in  front  and  take  the  gifts  away  in 
their  aprons.  There  would  follow  another  dance 
and  then  another  speech  and  more  presents.  This 
kept  up  for  some  hours  until  they  were  exhausted. 
In  the  middle  of  these  exercises  I  saw  an  Indian 
appear  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  waving  a 


153 

red  blanket,  making  various  motions  with  it.  I 
saw  that  the  Indians  were  much  excited  by  their 
flashing  eyes  arid  m  )veme.nts.  They  seized  their 
guns  and  rushed  down  tftfcsteep  bank  to  the  river 
where  their  can  noes  weiife  moored,  and  in  five 
minutes  from  the  time  of  the  waving  of  the  blan- 
ket they  were  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river.  An 
interpreter  explained  the  cause  of  the  excitement 
The  motions  told  that  a  Chippewa  had  been  kill- 
ed by  one  of  the  Sioux6»a  short  distance  up  the 
river.  The  Chippewas  and  Sioux  had  been  euem- 
mies  for  years.  It  was  ascertained  soon  after  that 
it  was  a  false  alarm,  as  the^  Indian,  who  the  signal 
said  was  killed,  turned  ur>  ajl  right.  It  was  a 
marvel  to  me  how  they  cou*^,  by  the  waving  of 
a  blanket  convey  so  much  int^ligence.  One  more 
Indian  incident  which  occurred  in  1856.  A  large 
party  of  excursionists  were  going  up  the  river  on 
the  Northern  Bell,  one  of  the  finest  packets  of  the 
Galena  &  Minnesota  Packet  Co.  t  vW,-hen  we  stop- 
ped at  Red  Wing,  a  town  some  distance  below  St. 
Paul.  The  landing  was  a  steep  sloping  gravelly 
bank.  On  the  top  of  the  bank  we  found  a  large 
collection  of  Indians  having  a  Buffalo  dance. 
This  dance  is  usually  performed  before  starting 
out  on  a  hunt  for  the  buffalo  on  the  far  off  plains. 
They  all  had  on  fora  dress  a  whole  buffalo  skin 
with  the  head,  horns  and  tail.  This  was  a  great 
curiosity  for  all  of  us,  and  all  went  up  the  bank, 
forming  a  large  circle  about  the  dancers. .  After 


154 

dancing  a  time  for  our  amusement,  Mr.  Indian 
thought  he  would  have  some  fun  too.  So  putting 
their  heads  down  just  like  Buffaloes  when  they 
are  on  a  rampage,  they  charged  into  the  circle  of 
ladies  towards  the  river,  the  ladies  all  rushed 
screaming  towards  the  boat,  down  the  steep  bank 
without  order  asto  the  mode  of  their  going,  many  of 
"••them  falling  down  and  rolling  towards  the  boat. 
There  was  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the  whites,  the 
Indians  no  doubt  enjoyed  the  joke  as  well,  but 
they  did  not  show  it  by  any  visible  manifestation. 
My  main  object  in  writing  these  reminiscences  of 
my  early  days  on  the  upper  Mississippi  is  to 
present  the  name  and  memory  of  many  pioneers 
of  early  days,  who  helped  to  build  up  and  organ- 
ise the  first  settlements  along  the  banks  of  the 
great  river,  to  show  as  far  as  I  can  the  debt  of 
gratitude  due  to  these  strong  stalwart  pioneers  of 
civilization  in  the  Northwest.  I  never  kept  a 
diary  or  any  record  of  past  events  and  of  course 
cannot  give  the  exact  chronology  of  many  of  the 
•events  that  I  narrate.  In  my  early  life  and  up 
to  about  1870  I  made  frequent  trips  on  the  river 
from  St.  Louis  to  St.  Paul.  In  the  early  days  of 
steamboating  the  boats  always  wooded  from  the 
shore  and  in  wooding  and  loading  and  unloading 
frieght  would  lie  at  the  bank  sometimes  an  hour 
or  two.  Whenever  this  was  the  case  I  made  a 
practice  of  ascending  every  high  bluff  in  the 
neighborhood,  in  this  way  I  have  ascended  almost 


155 

every  bluff  along  the  upper  river  lying  near  the 
river  from  Dubuque  to  St.  Paul,  and  have  come 
in  contact  with  many  of  the  principal  business 
men  all  along  the  river. 

Sketches  of  Prominent  Men  of  St.  Paul  and  Minne- 
apolis. 

I  knew  Mr.  Gorman  well,  he  was  the  first 
Territorial  Governor  of  Minnesota,  as  I  had  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  him  in  a  business  way.  The 
government  advertised  foralarge  amount  of  sup- 
plies for  the  different  bands  of  the  Sioux,  to  be  de- 
livered at  St.  Paul  in  1854.  I  was  the  successful 
bidder  for  some  5,000  bushels  of  corn,  1,000  kegs 
of  lard,  a  quantity  of  smoked  hams  arid  Mess  pork. 
I  delivered  all  the  articles  called  for,  and  they 
were  receipted  for  in  good  order.  The  money 
was  to  pass  through  the  governors  hands,  and  I 
had  to  remain  at  St.  Paul  some  two  or  three  weeks 
waiting  for  the  funds  to  arrive.  When  I  would 
call  upon  him  he  would  swear,  not  at  me,  but  at 
the  delay  of  the  department  for  their  delatoriness. 
He  was  great  on  swearing  and  tobacco  chewing. 
Finally  a  portion  of  the  money  or  vouchers  came 
along,  but  the  department  was  not  ready  to  re- 
ceive some  300  kegs  of  lard  for  the  Sissetous,  but 
requested  me  to  hold  it  until  it  was  needed.  I 
did  so,  but  the  delays  in  waiting  for  the  portion 
of  the  money  until  late  in  the  fall,  and  loss  of  in- 


156 

terest  cut  down  ray  anticipated  profits.  I  took  no- 
more  government  contracts.  Governor  Gorman 
continued  to  reside  at  St.  Paul  until  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion  broke  out,  when  he  was  elected  Colo- 
nel of  the  8th  Minnesota,  and  served  creditably 
through  the  war.  I  knew  Wm.  Marshall,  who  was 
governor  of  the  state  in  after  years,  I  knew  him 
in  Galena  before  he  went  to  Minnesota.  The  last 
lime  I  met  him  was  in  St.  Louis,  in  1864,  when 
he,  myself  and  another  friend  went  one  evening 
to  the  house  of  Gratz  B.  Brown,  the  able  editor  of 
the  St.  Louis  Democrat,  to  congratulate  him  on 
his  election  by  the  legislature  of  Missouri,  to  the 
senate  of  the  United  States.  T  was  attending  the 
legislature  on  the  day  of  his  election  and  saw  it 
done.  On  my  way  down  to  St.  Louis  I  fell  in 
company  with  Samuel  Glover,  a  very  prominent 
lawyer  of  St.  Louis,  who  was  the  candidate  for  the 
more  conservative  portion  of  the  Union  men.  I 
had  a  long  talk  with  him.  He  thought  the  state 
would  go  to  ruin  under  such  radical  rule,  as  then, 
dominated  the  legislature  Governor  Sibley,  who 
lived  at  Mendota,  a  small  trading  post,  a  short 
distance  above  St.  Paul,  where  I  often  met  him. 
He  had  been  an  Indian  trader  for  some  years  at 
that  point.  James  M.  Goodhue,  who  established 
the  first  news  paper  at  St.  Paul,  the  Pioneer,  I 
knew  well  in  Galena.  He  was  a  resident  there 
for  two  or  three  years,  he  wrote  a  very  readable 
novel  connected  with  some  romantic  episode  of 


157 

the  mines.  Phrenolegy  was  just  attracting  some 
attention,  and  a  lecture  was  given  on  the  subject 
at  Galena.  Goodhue  delivered  a  free  lecture  on 
the  same  subject.  He  illustrated  his  subjects  with 
a  skull  which  he  had  under  the  desk  before  him. 
It  was  the  skull  of  a  dog.  He  would  bring  it  up 
from  time  to  time,  as  if  he  had  many  different 
skulls,  and  point  out  the  different  bumps  and  char- 
acters, qualities  etc.  He  kept  the  audience  in  a 
roar  from  beginning  to  end.  He  wrote  occasion- 
ally for  the  Galena  Gazette.  He  was  a  strong 
vigorous  writer,  and  the  Pioneer  was  sent  broad- 
cast over  the  country  by  the  citizens  of  St.  Paul. 
I  think  the  able  editorials  in  his  paper  depicting 
in  glowing  colors  the  many  attractions  for  settlers 
to  be  found  in  this  land  of  many  lakes  done  more 
to  draw  emigration  to  Minnesota  than  any  other 
cause.  The  great  excursion  of  the  Chicago  and 
Rock  Island  road,  which  I  have  heretofore  de- 
scribed helped  to  quicken  the  tide  of  emigration 
set  in  motion  by  his  facile  pen.  He  got  into  some 
altercation  with  a  judge,  a  Southerner,  in  which 
he  was  severely  cut  and  wounded.  When  he  got 
about  and  well  enough  to  write,  he  published  in 
his  paper  the  most  scathing  attack  on  the  judge. 
Horace  Greely  I  recollect  said  in  his  New  York 
Tribune  that  it  was  written  in  the  most  strong 
biteing  language  that  could  be  expressed.  He 
died  many  years  ago,  but  his  paper  still  survives 
under  the  name  of  Pioneer  and  Press,  a  union  of 


158 

papers  between  the  rival  cities  of  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Paul. 

Frank  Steele,  who  was  for  a  long  time  the  sut- 
ler at  Fort  Snelling,  I  knew.     He  was  a  most  gen- 
ial and  polished  gentleman  and  had  much  to   do 
in  building  up  the  beautiful  city   of  Minneapolis 
in  its  early  days.     He  bought  of  the   government 
the  large  tract  of  land  lying  between  Fort  Snell- 
ing and  Minneapolis,  embracing  a   considerable 
proportion  of  the   southern  site   of  Minneapolis. 
There  were  a  number  of  others  interested   with 
him.     The  price  paid  was,  I  think  $400  per  acre. 
It  was  thought  at  the  time  to  be  a  very  good  price. 
In  St.  Anthony,  now  annexed  to  Minneapolis,    I 
knew  |D.  B.  Dorman   and   his   father  very  well. 
He  was  a  successful   banker   for  some   time,   his 
father  built  the  first  warehouse  on  the  river  near 
the  head,  or  rather  just  opposite  Necolett    Island. 
The  whole  family  were  very  intimate   friends   of 
mine,  and  have  all  been  dead  many  years.     W.  C. 
Burbank,  who  a  few  years  aftermoved  to  St.  Paul, 
was  largely  interested  with  my  old   friend,  Capt. 
Blakely  in  staging  and  transportation  west  of  St. 
Paul.  I  knew  very  well  Burbank's  brothe*1  Henry, 
who  lived  at  St.  Cloud,  120  miles  above,  I  met  him 
at  St.  Cloudfafter  a  railroad,  following  the  valley 
of  the  river,   reached   there.     He   was  interested 
with  his  brother  and  Gapt.  Blakely.     I   went  up 
there  on  a  pleasure  trip  with  my  daughter,  Mary, 
to  see  the  country,  while   there,  seeing  the   year- 


159 

ly  caravan  of  wooden  carts  from  far  off  Pembina,. 
or  Manitoba,  that  come  in  with  furs  and  pel- 
tries. Heretofore  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  St.  Paul,  but  this  season  they  stopped 
here  as  they  could  do  just  as  well  as  at  St.  Paul. 
Three  or  four  years  before,  I  was  in  St.  Paul,  when 
the  Pembina  train  arrived  there,  I  held  out  such 
inducements  to  their  leaders  to  visit  Galena,  that 
they  took  a  boat  and  brought  down  a-large  quan- 
tity of  Buffalo  robes  and  a  large  amount  of  cash 
given  in  exchange  for  their  furs  and  peltries  by 
the  St.  Paul,  and  invested  in  groceries  and  such 
other  things  suited  to  the  trade  of  their  country, 
some  of  them  could  speak  no  English,  but  one  of 
their  leaders  acted  as  interpreter.  They  left  a 
number  of  thousand  dollars  with  the  Galena  mer- 
chants. Capt.  R.  Blakely,  who  was  interested 
with  the  Burbanks  in  northwestern  transportation, 
was  a  very  popular  clerk  and  captain  in  the  Ga- 
lena and  Minnesota  Packet  Co.,  and  was  towards 
the  close  of  that  company  a  leading  director. 
After  he  settled  in  St.  Paul  he  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  management  of  some  of  the  numerous 
railroads  diverging  from  St.  Paul.  He  was 
very  liberal  and  broad  in  his  views  and  was, 
and  still  is,  reckoned  one  of  the  foremost 
men  in  the  city  of  his  adoption.  He  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  I.  P.  Sheldon,  who  at  an  early 
day  of  1833,  settled  at  Peruta,  a  small  hamlet  start- 
ed on  the  little  Maquo-ka,  a  stream  that  empties 


160 

into  the  Mississippi,  about  five  miles  above  Dubu- 
que.  A  land-office  was  located  there,  Thos.  Mc- 
Night  was  register  and  Mr.  Sheldon  was  receiver. 
In  the  fall  of  1834  I  went  up  there  on  the  steamer 
Winnebago  t9  ship  some  lead  and  while  there 
called  at  his  house,  seeing  his  amiable  wife  and 
his  three  beautiful  daughters,  The  oldest  one 
married  Judge  Drummond,  the  next  Chas.  Grat- 
iot,  and  the  youngest,  Nelly,  married  my  old  time 
friend,  Blakely,  Mr.  Sheldon  after  this  served 
few  years  in  one  of  the  departments  at  Washing- 
ton. He  had  a  beautiful  farm  in  Wisconsin,  at 
Willow  Springs.  In  after  years,  one  of  his  sons, 
John  Sheldon,  was  employed  as  cashier  in  the 
bank  of  Galena,  and  afterwards  was  a  clerk  for 
the  h'rm  of  McMaster  &  Hempstead, 

The  town  of  Winona,  was  a  portion  of  it  laid  off 
by  Capt.  Orrin  Smith  in  1850.  He  started  his  son 
Sylvester  in  business  there  as  a  banker.  During  the 
financial  troubles  of  1857,  he  failed,  involving  his 
father  somewhat  in  the  loss  from  which  he  never 
recovered;  losing  his  fine  property  in  Galena,  he 
moved  to  Chicago,  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  brick.  This  not  proving  a  success,  some- 
where in  the  70s  he  moved  to  Dubuque,  ending 
his  days  there  in  extreme  poverty.  He  probably 
at  one  time  during  the  great  influx  of  population 
to  Minnesota  was  more  widely  known  and  respect- 
ed as  a  popular  steam  boat  captain,  than  any 
other.  He  superintended  the  building  of  very 


161 

many  of  the  fast  well  appointed  steam  boats  of 
the  Galena,  Dubuque  &  Minnesota  Packet  Co. 
He  was  president  of  the  company  for  three  or  four 
year?.  He  was  a  very  genial  affable  man.  His 
wife  was  a  sister  of  the  Langworthys,  of  Dubuque. 
Dr.  Langworthy  the  father  of  James,  Lucius,  Solon 
and  Edward,  came  to  the  state  of  Illinois  at  an 
early  day.  The  sons  settled  at  Dubuque,  and  the 
neighborhood  in  1832.  They  were  all  able,  shrewd 
business  men,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  build- 
ing up  that  city,  they  were  very  successful  in  min- 
ing operations  as  well  as  in  other  departments  of 
business.  They  all  in  after  years  built  for  them- 
selves fine  residences  in  the  same  neighborhood 
on  the  hill  back  of  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  each 
owning  a  number  of  acres,  surrounding  their 
homes.  My  old  Galena  neighbor  and  friend, 
Capt.  Scribe  Harris,  who  was  a  relative  by  mar- 
riage, bought  a  fine  residence  adjoining  his 
brother-in-law  in  about  1870.  The  neighborhood 
was  a  very  pleasant  one,  away  from  the  bustle 
and  noise  of  the  city.  Besides  the  Langworthys 
among  the  early  pioneers  of  Dubuque,  I  vrould 
mention  a  few  whom  I  knew  and  who  all  took  a 
leading  part  in  building  up  the  city.  I.  P.  Far- 
ley, Peter  Waples,  P.  A.  Lorimer,  Gen.  G.  W. 
Jones,  John  Hancock,  I.  H.  Randall  and  Donald 
McKenzie.  I.  P.  Farley  done  more  perhaps  to 
develope  and  increase  the  trade  of  the  town  than 
any  one  else.  He  established  three  or  four  heavy 


162 

wholesale  establishments  in  different  departments 
in  1854  to  1856.  A  broad  minded  liberal  man. 
When  the  Northern  Pacific  went  into  bankruptcy 
the  second  time  he  was  appointed  receiver,  and 
acted  in  that  capacity  some  years.  1  noted  a 
long  pending  suit  growing  out  of  his  connection 
with  the  road  in  which  he  brought  suit  to  recov- 
er millions,  has  been  decided  against  him  in  his 
old  age.  He  with  his  father-in-law,  old  man 
•  Johnson,  lived  in  Galena  in  1834  and  went  from 
there  to  Dubuque.  Peter  Waples  built  the  first 
large  hotel  in  Dubuque  and  kept  it  for  some  years. 
It  has  been  lately  remodeled  and  is  one  of  the 
best  hotels  in  the  state,  in  all  its  appointments. 
Peter  A.  Lo rimer,  a  genial  Frenchman  was  a  suc- 
cessful smelter,  he  had  a  furnace  some  distance 
below  town,  at  the  mouth  of  the  stream  called 
Catfish.  There  was  quite  a  little  settlement  there 
in  1837,  it  was  called  Rip  Ro.  He  built  the  Lor- 
imer  hotel  on  the  street  of  the  same  name,  near 
the  foot  of  the  bluff.  I  need  not  speak  of  the  his- 
tory, of  Gen  G.  Jones,  it  is  so  closely  identified  with 
that  of  the  town  and  state  and  needs  no  comment, 
Donald  McKenzie  the  father  of  Major  McKenzie 
the  present  efficient  superintendent  of  the  govern- 
ment operations,  improving  the  upper  Mississippi; 
[first  knew  him  in  St.  Louis  in  1835,  he  was  a  book- 
keeper in  the  hardware  store  of  Mr.  Shaw,  of  the 
famous[Shaw  garden,  which  he  in  after  years  do- 
nated to  the  city.  Mr.  McKenzie  went  from  St. 


163 

Louis  to  Potosi,  a  mining  town  in  Wisconsin,  and 
went  into  business  with  a  fellow  clerk  of  his  at  Mr. 
Shaw's,  Sam  Wilson.  He  afterwards  settled  in 
Dubuque  buying  out  the  Gregoire  ferry.  Mr. 
Gregoire  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Gen. 'Jones  and 
started  the  ferry  in  1836.  McKenzie  often  came 
over  to  Galena  with  his  two  bright  little  boys 
dressed  in  Scotch  kilts,  to  see  his  brother-in-laWj 
Capt.  Thos.  Connor,  who  had  his  office  with  me. 
Good  genial  Capt.  Connor  was  killed  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  and  his  body  rests  in  the  new  Galena 
cemetery,  on  the  hill  close  along  side  of  that  of 
Capt.  Hiram  Bersie.  Over  the  graves  I  had  erect- 
ed a  plain  slab  of  white  marble  in  1866. 

The  town  of  Cassville  was  laid  off  by  Governor 
Dewey  in  about  1840.  It  is  a  very  pretty  site  for 
a  town  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river.  The  gover- 
nor erected  a  very  fine  stone  hotel,  large  and  spa- 
cious. Much  too  large  for  the  wants  of  that  early 
day.  Cassville  was  on  the  Northern  limit  of^  the 
lead  mines  and  a  number  of  fine  leads  were  open- 
ed there.  It  was  quite  a  shipping  point  for  lead 
and  farm  products,  Rafuffand  Geigherwere  the 
principal  merchants  there.  It  is  now  one  of  the 
dead  towns  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  still  it  has 
picked  up  somewhat  since  the  Burlington  and 
Northern  railroad  has  been  built,  as  it  has  a  fine 
farming  country  back  of  it. 

In  1853  I  dissolved  partnership  with  Edward 
Hempstead.  He  had  an  advantageous  offer  to  go 


164 

into  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  in  Chicago, 
with  the  old  established  house  of  Norton  &  Co., 
leaving  me  to  close  up  what  little  unsettled  busi- 
ness we  had.  I  continued  in  the  pork  packing 
and  grain  buying  business  and  was  very  successful. 
We  initiated  a  good  many  railroad  projects  dur- 
ing the  interval  between  1854  and  1860.  One  was 
a  connection  between  Galena  and  Milwaukee  by 
way  of  Warren.  A  delegation  of  some  twelve  to 
fifteen  went  on  an  excursion  to  Milwaukee  in  the 
winter.  Among  them  D.  A.  Barrows,  L.  S.  Felt 
Cephas  Foster,  E.  A.  Collins  and  C.  B.  Denio.  We 
were  well  received  by  the  Milwaukee  people.  Wm. 
E.  Kramer  editor  of  the  Wisconsin  was  a  strong 
advocate  for  the  project,  I  had  met  him  before 
and  had  corresponded  with  his  paper.  I  last  met 
him  in  St.  Louis  in  1866  at  the  Lindele  Hotel. 
He  sat  up  with  me  until  12  o'clock  talking  and 
advocating  the  candidacy  of  General  Grant  for 
prescient  in  1868.  He  was  very  deaf  and  had  to 
use  a  large  ear  trumpet.  He  was  the  first  one 
that  I  had  heard  speak  of  this.  Edward  Hotten 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Milwaukee,  whom  I  had 
met  at  my  home  in  Galena  before,  invited  us  all 
to  take  a  ride  to  Waupon,  where  the  opening  of 
the  railroad  from  Milwaukee  to  that  place  was 
to  be  celebrated.  He  was  president  of  the  road 
the  first  that  went  out  west  of  Milwaukee.  They 
had  a  banquet  to  which  C.  B.  Denio,  Professor 
Daniels  and  myself  went.  Friend  Denio  was  al- 


165 

ways  ready  to  make  a  speech  and  this  was  what 
Daniels  and  myself  went  for.  Some  few  rather 
tame  speeches  were  made  when  Daniels,  who  was 
State  Geologist,  of  Wisconsin,  called  out  the  name 
of  C.  B.  Denio,  the  Galena  brick  layer,  I  followed 
suit  and  Denio.  who  was  a  born  natural  orator 
made  the  best  speech  of  the  occasion.  Sometime 
after  a  company  was  organized  and  some  prelim- 
inary surveys  were  made.  I  was  secretary  and 
treasurer.  I  think  the  city  of  Galena  issued  500,- 
000  of  bonds,  which  however,  fortunately,  were 
never  sold,  but  were  burned  up  a  few  years  after. 
At  the  winding  up  of  the  concern,  they  owed  me  one 
hundred  dollars  for  money  advanced  for  surveys, 
some  years  after,  when  the  Narrowgauge  railroad 
was  organized,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  have 
the  books  in  my  possession,  and  I  got  back  my 
advance. 

Another  Galena  railway  project  was  to  build  a 
road  to  the  state  line  of  Minnesota,  striking  that 
state  in  Mitchel  count}7,  crossing  the  Mississippi 
atTete  des  Mort,  Captain.  Gear's  gateway  to  the 
Pacific,  and  almost  every  where  else.  Some  money 
was  raised  and  an  exploring  party  sent  out,  among 
whom  was  Dr.  Ray,  a  Galena  editor  at  the  time, 
who  afterwards  became  famous  as  the  leading 
editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune.  He  did  not  go 
through  to  St.  Paul  with  the  expedition.  He 
reported  a  favorable  route  with  the  exception 
of  getting  out  of  the  valley  of  the  Tete  des  Mort 


166 

to  the  high  lands,  some  300  feet  above  the  valley. 
The  company  was  organized  and  considerable 
stock  was  taken  upon  which  some  money  was 
paid  for  surveys.  Capt.  Gear  spending  quite  an 
amount  on  his  own  account  in  grading  and  build- 
ing a  heavy  wall  along  the  bank  of  the  classic 
TetedesMort.  There  had  been  a  survey  made 
of  a  number  of  miles  in  Iowa.  Among  the  many 
land  grants  made  by  congress  at  this  time,  was 
a  number  of  thousand  acres  to  the  state  of  Iowa. 
Our  member  of  congress,  E.  B.  Washburn,  obtain- 
ed for  the  Tete  des  Mort  road,  a  grantfor  a  portion 
of  the  land,  this  road  commencing  at  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi  and  striking  at  the  nearest 
point  of  the  intersection  on  the  railroad,  then  be- 
ing constructed  west  of  Dubuque.  It  was  soon 
ascertained  that  the  nearest  point  of  intersection 
was  to  follow  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  Tete 
des  Mort.  A  company  was  organized  at  Dubuque, 
and  the  road  was  built  getting  the  land  grant. 
A  few  years  after  it  was  extended  to  Clinton  by 
the  same  company.  So  our  Tete  des  Mort  project 
fell  through,  some  thousands  of  dollars  had  been 
spent,  and  the  city  made  another  batch  of  bonds, 
500,000,  which  with  the  bonds  to  the  Milwaukee 
road  were  a  few  years  after  cremated,  and  this  was 
the  last  of  the  attempts  of  Galena  to  build  railroads. 
The  Tete  des  Mort  was  a  wild,  visionary  project 
at  any  rate,  involving  as  it  did  the  building  of  the 
long  expensive  bridge  across  the  Mississippi,  and 


167 

crossing  the  high  land  between   Galena  and  the 
Mississippi. 

In  1854  when  the  Republican  party  was  organ- 
ized I  was  a  delegate  to  the  Congressional  Con- 
vention held  at  Rock  ford,  that  nominated  E.  B. 
Washburne.  It  was  a  close  contest  between  him 
.and  General  Hurl  hurt  afterwards  General  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.  The  platform  took  strong 
Anti-Slavery  grounds.  It  was  made  so,  thinking 
Washburne  would  not  endorse  it.  The  General 
made  every  exertion  to  get  the  nomination,  but 
Washburne  had  a  strong  majority.  The  district 
which  extended  t®  the  lake  on  the  east,  included 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  counties,  had  heretofore 
been  strongly  Democratic  and  it  looked  like  anal- 
most  hopless  contest,  but  Washburne  went  in  to 
win.  An  editor  at  Waukegan  whose  name  I  have 
forgotten  did  very  effective  work  in  that  part 
of  the  district,  Jo  Daviess  the  residence  of  both 
"the  opposing  candidates  gave  Tom  Campbell 
the  usual  rousing  majority,  but  the  returns 
from  the  Eastern  counties  of  the  district,  gave 
Washburne  a  small  majority,  much  to  the 
disappointment  of  my  old  genial  neighbor, 
Thompson  Campbell.  I  am  no  politician  and 
never  sought  office,  but  was  a  delegate  to  every 
convention  that  nominated  Mr.  Washburne  for 
all  the  time  he  served,  14  years.  Of  his  qualifi- 
cations as  a  representative,  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  speak,  as  his  reputation  as  a  faithful  hard  work- 


168 

ing  member  is  well  known,  as  well  as  his  untiring 
efforts  to  sustain  Gen.  Grant  against  the  combin- 
ed attacks  of  red  tape  under  McClelland  &  Hal- 
lack.  An  old  time  Democrat  in  Galena,  Uncle 
Jesse  Morrison  had  a  claim  against  the  govern- 
ment for  mules  and  horses  he  had  furnished 
during  the  Black  Hawk  War.  He  had  had 
it  in  the  hands  of  Tom  Turner,  Tom  Campbell 
and  Edward  Baker,  but  did  not  get  it  allowed. 
He  said,  "I  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Washburneand 
he  got  the  money,  he  is  the  man  for  me."  After 
this  I  attended  the  first  Republican  state  conven- 
tion held  at  Springfield,  as  a  delegate.  Here  L 
first  saw  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  the  afternoon 
when  I  came  into  the  hall  I  saw  a  tall  ungainly 
man  speaking.  He  was  urging  upon  his  old  whig 
friends,  like  Govenor  Palmer,  Browning  and 
others  to  join  the  new  party,  I  soon  discovered 
that  I  was  listening  to  no  common  man  and  I  in- 
quired who  he  was.  That  is  Abraham  Lincoln, 
was  the  reply.  Bissell  was  nominated  at  this  con- 
vention for  governor  and  Newman  Bateman  for 
state  superintendent  of  public  schools. 

Galena  and  Vicinity  From  1850  to  1860. 

The  tax  levy  of  Galena  was  almost  always  short 
of  the  amount  required  to  meet  the  yearly  expen- 
ses, and  in  consequence  of  a  yearly  deficiency,  the 
city  council  issued  city  script  to  pay  for  labor  and 


169 

incidental  city  expenses.  In  a  few  years  this  city 
script  was  passing  and  paid  out  at  twenty-five 
cents  on  the  dollar.  This  was  a  most  ruinous  and 
short  sighted  policy.  Somewhere  about  1840  in 
the  administration  of  Chas.  S.  Hempstead  as 
mayor,  he  recommended  that  this  floating  script 
should  all  be  called  in  and  funded  at  fifty  cents 
on  the  dollar.  This  policy  was  adopted  and  bonds 
were  issued  for  a  number  of  thousand  dollars 
running  for  I  think  twenty  years  with  interest  at 
ten  per  cent.  The  affairs  of  the  city  were  miser- 
ably managed,  generally  under  Democratic  rule, 
the  Irish  vote  usually  deciding  the  elections.  Rep- 
resentative men  of  means,  and  standing  could 
riot  be  elected,  and  the  aldermen  chosen  were  al- 
ways fearful  of  injuring  their  popularity,  if  they 
should  levy  any  increased  tax.  In  consequence 
this  city  with  hundreds  of  wealthy  men,  having 
more  wealth  than  any  other  city  of  three  times 
its  size  in  the  west,  kept  running  behind  from 
year  to  year.  A  small  annual  levy  of  50  cents 
additional  each  year  for  a  few  years  would  have 
placed  the  city's  finances  on  a  sound  basis.  The 
business  men  who  very  seldom  were  chosen  alder- 
men, were  all  to  busy  making  money  to  pay  any 
attention  to  city  affairs.  We  all  seemed  to  forget 
that  sometime  a  day  of  reckoning  must  inevitably 
come.  Things  drifted  in  this  way  until  about 
1870.  The  interest  on  the  bonds  had  not  been 
met  for  some  years,  and  the  bonds  were  due.  In 


170 

the  meantime  the  population  of  the  poor  old  town 
was  falling  off.  Man}' of  her  best  business  men 
moved  to  Chicago  and  other  points.  The  bond 
holders  had  got  tired  waiting  for  their  money  and 
interest.  The  city  was  sued  and  judgement  given 
against  it.  What  little  city  property  there  was, 
was  attached.  The  market  house  with  the  small 
city  hall  in  the  second  story  was  about  all  the 
bond  holders  could  find.  Finally  a  mandamas 
was  issued  compelling  the  city  council  to  levy  a 
certain  amount  of  tax  each  year  sufficient  to  meet 
the  indebtedness.  The  tax  was  levied,  but  it  was 
not  collected  for  two  or  three  years,  some  of  the 
city  officers  resigning,  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect 
the  tax,  finally  a  compromise  was  made,  the  city 
agreeing  to  pay  50  cents  on  the  indebtness  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years.  The  indebtedness  was  all 
settled  some  ten  years  ago. 

To  show  how  reckless  the  average  city  council 
was  I  will  give  an  instance.  The  council  wished 
to  make  some  needed  street  improvments,  but 
they  had  no  money  belonging  to  the  city  with 
which  to  do  it.  The  fund  collected  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  public  schools  as  well  as  the  state  funds 
set  apart  for  the  same  purpose  were  deposited  with 
the  city  treasurer,  and  the  teachers  received  their 
pay  through  the  city  council.  They  took  two 
thousand  dollars  from  this  fund,  and  used  it  for 
city  purposes,  which  they  had  no  legal  right  to 
do,  and  they  ought  to  have  been  indicted  for  this 


171 

illegal  act.  The  next  season  when  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education  and  was  acting  as 
superintendent  for  that  year,  while  we  were  put- 
ting up  the  new  high  school  building,  I  called  on 
the  city  authorities  for  the  §2,000  they  had  taken. 
They  gave  us  a  five  years  bond  for  the  amount. 
We  wanted  the  funds  to  fit  out  the  new  school 
house  with  furniture.  I.  A.  Packard,  who  .was 
going  east  took  the  bond  with  him  to  Boston  and 
bought  the  needed  furniture  at  cash  prices.  This 
was  not  paid  until  1880.  Another  sample  of  the 
stupidity  or  knavery,  of  the  average  city  coun- 
cilmen. 

The  Catholics  had  two  large  parochial  schools 
and  some  of  their  leaders  thought  it  cost  too  much 
to  keep  them  up,  so  a  petition  was  gotten  up  to 
the  city  council,  asking  them  to  take  these  Catho- 
lic schools  and  call  them  public  schools  and  to 
pay  the  teachers  from  the  public  funds.  The  pe- 
tition was  signed  by  Nicholas  Dowling  a  lead- 
ing Catholic,  and  a  number  of  politicians,  and 
among  the  rest  by  two  of  the  members  of  the 
board  of  education,  Win.  Cary  and  Henry  Foltz, 
I  was  the  other  member,  but  was  not  called  on  to 
sign  the  petition.  I  well  knew  that  this  would 
be  an  illegal  act,  and  called  on  Win.  Cary,  a  law- 
yer, who  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  sign 
the  petition  and  told  him  I  would  not  consent  to 
anything  of  the  kind.  He  agreed  that  I  was  right 
and  joined  me  in  notice  to  the  two  Catholic  teach- 


172 

ers  that  they  would  not  be  paid  their  wages  from 
the  school  funds  and  this  ended  the  matter. 

When  I  first  came  to  Galena  there  were  quite 
a  number  of  colored  people,  who  were  slaves. 
Swancy  Adams  was  one  of  the  number,  he  belong- 
ed to  a  gambler  by  the  name  of  Duncan.  Swancy 
was  a  hard  working  industrious  man.  He  was 
to  have  a  portion  of  his  wages  and  was  working 
late  and  early  to  earn  enough  to  obtain  his  free- 
dom. He  usually  done  all  the  jobs  he  could  get, 
but  most  of  his  time  was  put  in  piling  lead  on  the 
levee.  Some  days  he  would  earn  four  dollars,  and 
he  had  earned  nearly  enough  to  pay  for  himself 
and  soon  expected  to  see  the  happy  day  when  he 
could  call  himself  a  free  man.  His  master  had 
been  very  unsuccessful  in  his  gambling  and  one  day 
he  came  to  Swancy,  when  a  boat  was  lying  at  the 
levee  and  told  him  hemust  send  him  to  Missouri. 
Swancy  knew  that  this  meant  he  would  sell  him 
into  slavery.  He  begged  and  pleaded  with  his 
master  saying,  ''massa,  haint  I  been  a  good  faith- 
ful servant  to  you,  and  now  when  I  have  most 
paid  for  myself  you  send  me  away  to  a  new  mas- 
ter into  slavery.  Duncan  persisted  in  putting 
him  on  the  boat,  and  put  hand  cuffs  on  him, 
when  some  of  Swancy's  friends  interfered  and 
would  not  let  Duncan  send  him  off.  They  paid 
the  small  amount  that  was  due  and  Swancy  spent 
the  rest  of  his  days  in  Galena.  When  he  got  to 
old  to  do  hard  work  he  got  himself  a  water  cart 


173 

and  for  many  a  year  his  familiar  face  was  seen 
carrying  pure  spring  water  to  his  numerous  cus- 
tomers. 

Aunt  Susan  Coleman  came  to  Galena  with  her 
Kentucky  master  in  1828.  She  was  a  noted  nurse 
and  she  took  charge  of  nearly  all  the  little  ones  as 
they  came  along  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town  in 
my  neighborhood.  She  was  also  trying  to  earn 
her  freedom.  When  she  had  money  enough  at 
last  to  make  the  last  payment  she  took  it  to  her 
master  and  wanted  him  to  make  out  her  freedom 
papers,  he  put  her  off  with  some  kind  of  writing 
which  she  showed  to  George  W.  Campbell,  and  he 
told  her  that  would  not  do.  So  he  went  to  her 
master  and  made  him  make  out  her  free  papers. 
She  was  a  shrewd  old  woman,  with  a  keen  insight 
of  character.  Who  does  not  remember  Stalwart, 
old  Jack  Ba-rton,  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  going 
around  with  his  dray,  a  great  favorite  along  the 
levee,  with  his  inseperable  companion  drayman, 
Ned  Mahar,  the  broken  nosed  Irishman.  Some- 
times Ned  would  get  tight  and  be  found  in  a  sa- 
loon by  his  brave  little  wife.  She  would  say  to 
him,  "Ned  !  Ned  !  Come  home !"  She  would  lead 
him  out  to  the  dray  getting  on  behind  herself. 
Ned  would  whip  up  his  horse  over  the  rough  road 
trying  to  throw  her  off. 

Two  men  came  to  Galena  along  in  the  50s  from 
Northern  Missouri,  looking  for  colored  servants 
for  a  hotel  just  opening  on  the  line  of  the  Hanni- 


174 

bal  &  St.  Jo  railroad.  They  offered  good  wages. 
They  induced  Jerry  Boyd,  his  wife  and  daughter, 
to  start  with  them.  They  had  a  covered  wagon. 
Jerry  noticed  that  they  always  kept  the  cover 
closed  and  took  unfrequented  roads  avoiding  go- 
ing through  towns.  Somewhere  near  the  middle 
of  Iowa  when  they  were  in  the  woods  eating  their 
dinner,  Jerry  suspecting  from  their  secret  move- 
ments that  something  was  wrong,  told  them  so, 
saying  that  he  vvould'go  no  farther  with  them. 
Finding  that  their  game  was  up  as  far  as  Jerry 
was  concerred,  they  shot  him,  leaving  his  body 
there  in  the  woods  and  pursued  their  way  to 
Buchannan  county  in  Missouri,  threatening  the 
wife  and  daughter  with  death  if  they  made  any 
attempt  to  escape.  Some  weeks  after  a  letter  was 
received  from  the  wife  by  a  friend  of  theirs  in  Ga- 
lena, telling  of  Jerry's  death  and  of  their  being 
held  in  slaver}7.  This  dastardly  act  stealing  free 
negroes  and  carrying  them  off  into  slavery  creat- 
ed intense  excitement  among  all  right  minded 
people  in  Galena.  Jerry  Boyd  was  much  respect- 
ed as  a  sober  industrious  man  and  had  resided  in 
the  city  for  a  number  of  years.  One  thousand  dol- 
lars was  raised  at  once  and  Sam  Hughletta  brave 
determined  man,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  W. 
W.  Wigley,  a  shrewd  sharp  lawyer,  went  to  Mis- 
souri with  necessary  papers  to  arrest  the  villians. 
When  they  arrived  at  their  destination  they  went 
to  a  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  and  got  out  a  writ 


175 

for  the  arrest  of  the  two  negro  stealers.  The  judge 
had  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  and  most  re- 
spected man  in  the  county.  His  family  consisted  of  a 
colored  woman,  not  his  wife  and  a  number  of  mul- 
atto children.  The  men  were' arrested,  without  any 
trouble  from  the  crowd  that,  gathered  around  the 

cars,  denouncing  the  d d  negro   stealers   and 

were  put  in  charge  of  the  sheriff.  When  they  ar- 
rived at  the  next  station,  a  few  miles  offthey  were 
met  by  a  large  crowd  of  Missourians,  who  rushed 

on  the  cars,  shouting  "where  are  the  d d  negro 

stealers!  We  will  lynch  them."  The  prisoners 
were  hustled  off  the  cars  with  the  sheriff,  and  that 
was  the  termination  of  the  attempt  to  punish 
Southern  negro  stealers.  The  wife  and  daughter 
of  Jerry  were  rescued  however  from  slavery  and 
brought  back  to  Galena.  Our  old  friend  Sam 
Hughlett  denounced  the  Missouri  Democrats  in 
bitter  terms,  saying  I  have  done  with  the  Demo- 
crat party  after  this.  This  was  about  the  time  of 
the  Kansas  troubles  in  the  days  of  squatter  sov- 
ereignty as  advocated  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
Steeling  free  negroes  along  the  line  of  the  border 
states  was  a  common  occurrance.  It  was  done 
however  by  a  set  of  lawless  desperadoes  much  like 
our  western  horse  thieves.  The  mass  of  slave- 
holders did  not  countenance  these  outrages. 

There  had  been  a  number  of  robberies  and  at- 
tempts at  arson  along  in  the  50s.  The  Eagle  sa- 
loon kept  at  this  time  by  Alex  Young,  which  stood 


176 

on  the  site  of  the  present  Saint  Louis  store  had 
been  set  on  fire  three  different  times.  The  last 
time  the  attempt  was  successful:  A  store  on  the 
corner  southeast  from  this  was  also  burned  down 
This  last  was  probably  done  by  the  owner  who 
was  heavily  insurred.  A  safe  belonging  to  Deacon 
Long's  lumber  yard  was  broken  open  and  its  con- 
tents taken.  There  was  so  many  outrages  of  this 
kind  committed  without  any  clew  to  the  perpe- 
trators that  a  vigilance  committee  was  organized 
A  number  of  suspected  characters  were  brought 
up  before  Judge  Lynch.  Pomp  Stevens  a  lawyer, 
was  the  one  who  usually  interogated  the  culprits. 
He  had  a  strong  sonorous  voice  which  was  gener- 
ally used  with  telling  effect.  Nothing  came  out 
of  the  efforts  of  the  organization,  except  to  stop 
the  outrages.  No  one  was  brought  to  justice. 
While  the  lynchers  had  their  hands  in,  they 
heard  of  a  man  up  on  the  hill  who  was  frequently 
whipping  his  wife.  Sometimes  he  would  make 
her  go  out  to  the  stable  where  he  would  whip  her 
most  unmercifully  with  a  whip  crying  "whoe, 
whoe,"  to  his  horse,  so  that  the  neighbors  would 
think  he  was  punishing  his  horse.  He  was  taken 
out  to  the  stable  and  given  a  good  hiding  with 
the  same  whip  and  then  was  well  covered  with  a 
coat  of  tar  and  feathers,  which  his  poor  wife  was 
obliged  to  remove  for  him  the  same  night.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  hereditary  trait  with  him  as  his 
father,  it  was  said,  used  towhip  his  wife.  One  of 


177 

his  brothers  attempted  to  whip  his  wife  soon  after 
they  were  married,  ending  rather  disasterously  to 
him  and  forever  breaking  up  his  constitutional 
tendency.  She  was  a  strong  determined  woman 
and  she  turned  the  tables  on  him  by  giving  him 
a  terrible  thrashing.  She  was  not  troubled  again 
in  this  way. 

A  Mr.  Barttell  from  Quincy,  111.,  established  the 
Galena  Gazette  as  early  as  1839,  I  think.  He 
was  succeeded  by  H.  H.  Houghton  soon  after. 
He  came  from  Vermont,  was  a  vigorous  writer 
and  always  conducted  a  clean  reliable  paper. 
Cephas  Foster  and  W.  W.  Huntington  a  few  years 
after,  joined  him  in  the  management  of  the  paper. 
Mr.  Huntington  was  the  business  manager.  The 
weekly  had  a  very  wide  circulation  all  over  the 
northwest  at  that  time,  and  it  still  has  a  large 
circulation  among  the  many  Galenians  who  are 
to  be  found  in  almost  every  town  in  the  West.  J. 
B,  Brown  became  associated  with  the  paper  later 
and  has  been  the  sole  editor  and  proprieter  for 
some  years.  Mr.  Houghton  was  not  only  a  vigor- 
ous writer,  but  he  was  also  a  practical  printer. 
He  could  do  what  but  few  editors  could.  He  com- 
posed his  editorials  and  set  up  the  type  at  the 
same  time.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  was 
appointed  as  envoy  to  Honolulu.  He  stayed 
there  but  a  short  time  as  he  did  not  like  the  mis- 
sion. He  had  always  wanted  to  be  postmaster 

at  Galena,  and  would  probably  have  received  the 
12 


178 

appointment  under  Lincoln's  administration,  had 
not  his  former  associate,  W.  W.  Huntington  held 
it  for  two  terms.  After  his  return  from  Honolulu, 
the  old  faithful  editor  received  the  appointment 
he  had  waited  for  so  long.  He  was  a  very  quiet 
and  somewhat  eccentric  man,  somewhat  of  a  seer, 
sometimes  predicting  the  future  career  of  men. 
He  certainly  commenced  predicting  the  military 
career  of  Ulyssus  Grant.  When  Grant  took  that 
unruly  regiment  at  Springfield  and  marched 
them  over  land  to  Missouri,  marching  down 
through  that  state,  scattering  the  guirillas  who, 
were  infesting  that  point  of  the  state,  he  said  in 
his  paper  that  Grant  would  before  the  close  of  the 
war  become  one  of  the  foremost  leaders  of  the 
war.  He  continued  these  predictions  all  along 
through  the  earlier  stages  of  Grant's  eventful  car- 
eer. After  the  close  of  the  war  these  editorials  of 
his  were  republished,  and  I  read  them,  and  truly 
they  seemtd  to  be  an  unveiling  of  the  future.  I 
do  not  know  whether  these  editorials  have  been 
preserved  or  not,  in  the  files  of  the  Galena  Gazette. 
W.  W.  Huntington  was  a  very  genial  companion- 
able man.  He  was  my  near  neighbor  and  an  in- 
timate associate.  We  formed  a  literary  associa- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  course  of  lec- 
tures, and  in  connection  we  opened  a  reading 
room  intending  it  for  the  nuclus  of  a  future  li- 
brary. We  engaged  some  of  the  foremost  lecturers 
of  the  time.  Ralph  Waldo,  Emerson  Lowell,  John 


179 

G.  Saxe,  Bayard  Taylor,  Horace  Greely,  Tom 
Marshall  and  others.  I  was  president  of  the  as- 
sociation, and  my  friend,  Huntington  was  secre- 
tary and  treasurer.  I  met  Emerson  at  the  depot 
and  took  him  to  my  house.  I  was  always  a  great 
admirer  of  his.  The  foremost  philosopher  of  this 
or  any  other  age.  I  have  read  and  re-read  his  con- 
duct of  life  and  other  lectures  of  his,  and  in  each 
re-reading  I  find  and  appreciate  some  new  truth. 
The  next  day  after  the  lecture  I  took  him  out  to 
see  the  famous  Marsden  diggings,  ft  was  in  the 
winter  season.  We  descended  into  the  cave  with 
a  light  furnished  by  one  of  the  miners.  The  cave 
had  a  great  many  beautiful  stalactites  of  pyrites 
of  iron  and  cubes  of  galena.  On  our  way  home 
I  took  the  wrong  road,  and  wandered  around 
among  the  deep  wooded  hills  for  sometime.  Mr. 
Emerson  seemed  to  enjoy  the  wild  lonely  drive 
very  much,  remarking  that  losing  our  way  gave 
us  a  longer  and  pleasant  ride.  My  wife  and  my- 
self had  spent  some  days  at  Concord,  Massachusetts, 
the  year  before,  visiting  her  relatives.  I  did  not 
meet  him  but  I  visited  his  unique  rustic  house. 
He  impressed  me  as  having  a  most  lovable  child- 
like nature. 

Horace  Greely  visited  us  in  mid-winter.  It  had 
been  snowing  heavily,  and  the  railroads  were 
much  obstructed.  He  had  lectured  the  night  be- 
fore at  Mineral  Point,  40  miles  away.  He  had 
hired  a  team  to  bring  him  in  to  Galena,  a  coldun- 


180 

pleasant  ride.  He  came  to  my  house  and  stayed 
with  me  all  night  after  the  lecture.  In  his  lec- 
ture he  commenced  reading  his  manuscript  in  a 
sing  song  kind  of  a  way  and  up  and  down.  In  a 
short  time  he  said  ''I  do  not  find  what  I  want  to 
say  to  you  here,"  and  laying  down  his  notes  he 
gave  us  a  stirring  off-hand  address  on  the  tariff 
and  other  matters  connected  with  daily  practical 
life.  He  was  to  lecture  the  next  night  at  Free- 
port,  50  miles  east.  The  night  train  had  not 
arrived,  and  he  was  very  much  worried  about 
meeting  his  appointment.  Saying  that  if  the 
train  did  not  get  in,  he  must  hire  a  team  and 
take  another  long  tedious  ride.  After  breakfast 
we  started  for  the  depot,  on  the  bridge  we  met  a 
man,  who  told  us  the  train  was  just  in.  Horace 
jumped  at  least  three  feet  high  in  his  glee  over 
his  escape  from  detention.  I  had  met  Mr.  Greely 
once  before  in  his  office  in  New  York  in  1846. 
I  met  him  afterwards  in  Dubuque  in  company 
with  Cornelius  Vanderbilt.  This  was  in  1873;  I 
called  at  the  hotel  to  see  him,  and  we  went  to  the 
Universalist  church  together.  We  sat  in  the  same 
pew,  when  the  hymn  was  read  I  noticed  his  eyes 
closed,  Vanderbilt  said  to  me,  hand  him  the  book 
he  is  not  asleep.  It  was  a  habit  of  his  to  always 
close  his  eyes  during  service,  seeming  to  be  asleep, 
but  when  the  sermon  was  over  he  could  give  you 
a  clear  account  of  all  that  was  said.  I  have  al- 
ways been  an  admirer  of  Horace  Greely.  I  think  he 


181 

done  more  in  his  day  to  disseminate,  correct  prin- 
ciples and  improve  public  sentiment  than  any  or 
all  other  newspaper  editors.  I  have  always  been  a 
decided  Republican,  but  in  1874  I  voted  for  him. 
I  have  taken  his  paper  nearly  all  my  life.  The 
result  of  that  election  and  his  losing  control  of  his 
Tribune  broke_the  old  man's  heart.  I  recollect 
the  lecture  of  brilliant  Tom  Marshall,  the  Ken- 
tuckian  well.  What  a  scoring  he  gave  the  Demo- 
cratic part}7  for  their  long  course  of  "dog  in  the 
manger"  policy,  and  his  tribute  to  the  sons  of 
New  England  for  their  indomitable  energy  in 
overcoming  the  adverse  legislation  of  the  Demo- 
cracy. I  recollect  he  had  to  steady  himself  against 
one  of  the  iron  columns  of  the  hall  as  he  poured 
fourth  in  burning  words  his  arraignment  of  the 
Democracy.  The  course  of  lectures  was  kept  up 
for  some  years.  During  the  seige  of  Vicksburg, 
a  refugee,  who  had  made  his  escape  through  our 
lines  and  came  to  Galena,  he  was  a  Southerner, 
a  good  talker,  so  we  had  him  give  us  a  lecture  on 
the  seige  of  Vicksburg.  He  had  been  there  nearly 
all  the  time  up  to  its  capture.  He  was  something 
of  a  wag  and  would  describe  some  of  the  ludicrous 
scenes  enacted  there.  About  their  being  obliged 
to  burrow  in  the  hills  to  avoid  the  falling  bombs, 
how  sometimes  the  bombs  would  strike  a  stove 
while  their  dinner  was  .cooking,  just  before 
their  anticipated  meal.  Occasionally  his  discrip- 
tions  of  the  suffering  of  the  women  and  children 


182 

in  the  be  lea  gu  red  city  were  quite  pathetic.  At  the 
close  we  made  him  up  a  purse  of  fifty  dollars  for 
which  he  seemed  to  be  very  thankful  and  some- 
what surprised  as  he  did  not  expect  any  such 
amount. 

We  found  it  rather  difficult  to  keep  up  our  read- 
ing room  and  what  few  books  we  had  were  turned 
over  to  an  institution  called  a  theological  semi- 
nary, built  on  the  high  point  of  land  back  of  the 
court  house.  When  this  was  started  at  first  the 
Presbytery  of  Northern  Illinois  intended  it  to  be  a 
theological  seminary  for  that  denomination,  and 
subscriptions  were  taken  up  for  that  purpose. 
Dr.  Patterson  came  over  from  Chicago  and  met  a 
number  of  delegates,  who  were  called  together  to 
locate  the  new  seminary.  He  was  much  opposed 
to  its  location  at  Galena,  and  it  was  finally  locat- 
ed at  Chicago.  The  ground  had  been  purchased 
to  build  a  seminary  of  learning  on  the  site,  and 
trustees  were  elected,  most  of  them  belonging  to 
the  Presbyterian  church.  They. elected  me  as  one 
of  the  number  as  being  identified  with  the  educa- 
tional interest  of  the  city.  I  was  elected  treasur- 
er and  took  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  building. 
When  completed  it  cost  some  four  thousand  dol- 
lars. We  then  commenced  looking  around  for 
some  one  who  would  take  charge  of  the  school 
and  devote  a  part  of  his  time  to  raising  some  ad- 
ditional funds  for  the  institution.  Dr,  Newhall 
at  a  meeting  of  the  trustees,  said  he  had  just  the 


183 

m  in  for  the  purpose,  Professor  Foster,  who  came 
from  Rockfor J.  !So  he  was  engaged  at  a  fair  sal- 
ary, and  in  the  course  of  two  months  some  fifty 
or  more  pupils  were  in  attendance.  Foster  was  a 
very  plausible  man,  but  I  soon  suspected  he  was 
a  fraud.  He  advertised  a  course  of  lectures,  phil- 
osophical and  amusing,  for  these  lectures  he  obtain- 
ed a  considerable  amount  of  apparatus,  chemical 
and  otherwise,  giving  exhibitions  oflaughing  gas 
etc.  This  apparatus  he  had  insured  for  three  or 
four  times  its  value  as  we  learned  some  months 
after.  One  night  there  was  a  fire  alarm,  the  fire 
breaking  out  about  9  o'clock.  The  building  and 
all  itg  contents  were  consumed.  The  Professor 
left  soon  after  for  Kansas  after  getting  the  insur- 
ance on  his  fixtures.  Fortunately  I  had  applied 
for  four  thousand  dollars  insurance  only  a  few 
days  before.  The  application  was  entered,  but 
the  in  one}7  had  not  been  paid,  and  I  went  to  the 
agent  and  he  allowed  me  to  pay  it,  and  made  out 
the  policy  at  the  date  of  the  application.  This 
enabled  me  to  pay  off  all  the  indebtedness  for  ma- 
terials and  labor.  I  learned  after  that  this  profes- 
sor was  seen  to  go  into  the  basementofthe  building 
on  the  night  of  the  fire.  There  was  a  large  quan- 
tity of  boxes  and  shavings  there,  and  he  without 
doubt  applied  the  match.  He  went  to  Kansas  and 
invested  his  ill  gotten  gains  in  a  farm.  A  year 
or  two  after,  Dr.  New  hall  received  a  most  pit- 
ious  begging  letter  from  him,  saying  he  and  his 


184 

family  were  starving.  It  was  the  }Tear  of  excessive 
drouth  and  grasshoppers  in  Kansas.  Things  gen- 
erally get  evened  up,  even  in  this  life. 

I  attended  the  Republican  convention  held  in 
the  wigwam  at  Chicago, that  nominated  Abraham 
Lincoln.  The  day  before  the  vote  was  taken  my 
friend  Huntington  and  myself  visited  a  number 
of  the  headquarters  of  different  states,  mostly  of 
New  England  states.  From  the  general  drift  of 
their  remarks  I  was  satisfied  that  Lincoln  would 
receive  the  nomination.  When  the  voting  com- 
menced I  had  secured  a  seat  on  the  upper  teer, 
overlooking  the  vast  assembly,  and  also  could  see 
out  in  the  street  where  the  crowd  was  awaiting  the 
fmahvote.  When  the  final  vote  was  taken,  the 
crowd  outside  seemed  to  know  it  by  intuition  even 
before  it  was  announced.  The  Pennsylvania 
crowd  with  their  splendid  band,  struck  up  their 
music,  but  it  was  drowned  by  the  cheers  that 
rent  the  air.  They  threw  up  their  hats  again 
and  again.  All  seemed  to  be  jubilant  except  the- 
friends  of  Seward.  They  were  sorely  disappoint- 
ed at  the  unexpected  result.  Lincoln's  celebrated 
debates  with  Douglas  and  his  great  speech  at  the 
Cooper  Institute  in  New  York,  had  brought  him 
into  prominence  as  a  man  of  the  people.  His 
masterly  effort  atFreeport,  in  which  he  complete- 
ly mastered  the  wily  little  giant  was,  widely  cir- 
culated and  read.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
hear  this  debate. 


185 
Steamboating  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

I  will  now  go  back  awhile  and  try  to  describe 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  steamboat  interest  in  Ga- 
lena, and  at  other  points  along  the  river.  About 
the  time  when  the  tide  of  the  eastern  emigration 
commenced  flowing  to  wards  Minnesotta,  Mr.  Lode- 
wick  came  to  Galena  with  a  small  boat  and  com- 
menced making  regular  trips  to  St.  Paul.  A  num- 
ber of  our  citizens  took  an  interest  with  him.  From 
this  small  beginning  grew  the  Galena  &  Minne- 
sota Packet  Co.  New  boats  were  added  from 
year  to  year.  Capt.  Orrin  Smith  brought  out  the 
Nominee,  a  fast  favorite  boat,  making  a  trip  every 
week.  The  next  season  the  Harris  brothers, 
Smith  and  Scribe,  bought  a  very  last  boat  called 
the  West  Newton  and  commenced  running  in  op- 
position to  the  Packet  Co.,  in  order  to  force  them 
to  take  them  into  the  Co.  The  two  boats  would 
leave  at  the  same  hour,  at  each  end  of  the  route, 
and  it  would  be  a  race  all  the  way  up  and  down 
between  the  two  brother-in-laws.  The  Nominee 
developing  unexpected  racing  qualities.  There 
was  not  much  cutting  of  prices.  They  made  two 
trips  each  week.  The  West  Newton  would  attain 
great  speed  for  a  short  time  under  a  full  head  of 
steam.  One  day  I  was  standing  on  the  river  bank 
just  below  town  in  front  of  our  mill,  when  the 
West  Newton  came  tearing  down,  splitting  the 
little  river  wide  open.  The  water  was  high.  A 


186 

dutch  nan  was  just  iretting  rea< ly  to  launch  his 
ski.f,  when  the  waves  from  the  steamboat  struck 
him  and  his  skiff,  roiling  both  up  the  sloping 
bank  a  number  of  feet.  The  Dutchman  picked 
himself  up  and  said  "By  tarn!  What  kind  of  a 
steamboat  is  dat,  tearing  de  rivar  up."  The  next 
season  the  Harris  boys  were  taken  into  the  Co. 
Two  more  of  the  Lodewicks,  Preston  and  Kennedy, 
came  to  Galena  and  t  »ok  command  of  some 
of  the  company's  boats.  The  company  con- 
tinued to  add  two  more  boats  each  year  and  a 
number  of  Dubuque  men  became  interested,  the 
company  was  then  called  The  Galena,  Dubuque 
&  Minnesota  Co.  When  the  railroad  reached 
Prairie  Du  Chein,  H.  L.  Dousman  took  a  large 
share  of  stock,  and  the  Milwaukee  &  Itaska  were 
built  for  that  trade,  Nearly  all  the  new  boats 
were  built  under  the  supervision  of  Orrin  Smith, 
except  the  Grey  Eagle  and  St.  Paul,  which 
were  built  by  Capt.  Smith  Harris.  All  the 
new  boats  the  company  owned  were  built  at  Cin- 
cinnatti.  When  a  railroad  reached  La  Crosse 
they  made  an  arrangement  to  carry  the  rail- 
road freight  of  that  road.  A  man  called  Commo- 
dore Davidson  (in  after  years)  came  round 
from  the  Kenhawa  river  with  an  ordinary  boat 
and  commenced  running  from  La  Crosse  to  St. 
Paul,  carrying  freight  and  passengers  at  the 
same  rates  apparently,  but  he  had  a  secret  under- 
standing with  the  railroad,  by  which  he  gave 


187 

them  a  draw  back  on  the  business.  In  this  way 
he  secured  all  the  business  of  the  road.  The  next 
season  the  Packet  Co.,  made  an  agreement  with 
him,  taking  forty  thousand  dollars  stock  in  the 
La  Crosse  line,  putting  on  one  or  two  of  their 
boats.  The  La  Cros»e  railroad  being  the  shortest 
line  from  Chicago  to  Minnesota  got  the  largest 
share  of  the  immense  traffic  that  was  coming  from 
the  east  to  Minnesota.  At  the  next  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  stockholders  of  the  Packet  Co.,  at  Dun- 
leith,  Davidson  sent  no  report  of  the  earnings 
of  that  part  of  the  line.  Two  of  our  number  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  go  to  La  Crosse  and  have 
Davidson  render  an  account.  It  was  well  known 
that  the  net  earning  had  been  near  $200,000. 
When  the  delegates  returned  they  reported  that 
he  would  pay  over  to  the  company  $125,000  as 
the  earnings.  This  amount  was  accepted.  It 
turned  out  that  our  delegates  had  agreed  to  go  in 
with  Davidson  in  this  line.  He  was  a  shrewd 
unscrupulous  man  and  had  a  faculty  by  which 
he  could  deceive  most  men  and_make  them  his 
willing  tools.  For  ways  that  were  dark  and 
trickery,  he  would  beat  the  heathen  Chinee. 
Well  these  two  men  who  went  in  with  him  got 
their  reward,  at  least  one  of  them,  that  I  know,  as 
they  never  received  any  dividends.  The  earnings 
were  all  absorbed  in  repairs  of  boats  repaired  in 
Davidson's  boat  yard  at  La  Crosse,  and  in  insur- 
ance and  drawbacks.  Scribe  Harris  one  of  the 


188 

victims  told  me  he  never  received  a  cent  of  divi- 
dend except  ia  watered  stock,  which  amounted 
to  $70,000.  A  few  years  after,  when  he  met  Dav- 
idson, he  told  him  he  was  a  d d  rascal  and  a 

thief,  saying  to  him  "I  will  sell  you  my  stock  for 
anything  you  will  give."  Davidson  said  he  would 
give  him  12  J  cents  a  share,  and  Harris  took  it. 
A  few  years  after  Davidson  bought  the  line.  There 
was  a  contest  between  the  two  companies  lasting 
nearly  all  one  summer.  J.  Russel  Jones  and 
Capt.  Blakely  carried  on  the  contest  for  the  Packet 
Co.,  against  Davidson.  Passengers  and  freight 
were  carried  at  nominal  prices,  both  companies 
lost  heavily,  and  the  Packet  company  commenced 
going  down  after  this.  The  great  rush  to  Min- 
nesota had  ceased,  and  the  railroads  had  absorb- 
ed much  of  the  business.  In  the  winding  up  the 
business  of  the  company  the  stock  was  sold  most- 
ly at  25  cents  on  the  dollar  and  some  for  less, 
and  so  this  once  powerful  company  with  its  many 
fast  steamers,  disappeared  from  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi, which  they  for  so  many  years  had  con- 
trolled. 

In  the  50s  another  steamboat  company  was  or- 
ganized by  bringing  together  into  one  company 
a  number  of  boats  that  were  owned  alongthe  line 
of  the  river  between  St.  Louis  and  Galena,  engag- 
ed in  trade  between  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul.  Capts. 
Ward  and  Griffith  of  St.  Louis,  Capt.  Tom  Buford, 
of  Rock  Island,  Capts.  John  and  Tom  Rhodes,  of 


189 

Savanna,  and  Jerry  Woods,  of  Sabula,  and  some 
five  or  six  in  Galena,  who  had  an  interest  in  two 
or  three  boats.  It  was  called  the  Northern  Line, 
with  head  quarters  in  East  St.  Louis,  The  com- 
pany was  very  successful  and  paid  good  dividends 
for  many  years,  until  that  wrecker  of  steamboat 
interests  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  having  destroy- 
ed the  Minnesota  Packet  Co.,  and  built  himself 
up  on  the  ruins,  commenced  running  his  boats 
to  St.  Louis,  seeking  whom  he  might  devour.  He 
soon  commenced  cutting  passenger  rates.  At 
this  time  during  the  hot  summer  months  there 
was  a  great  rush  of  passengers  from  New  Orleans 
and  St.  Louis  seeking  health  and  recreation  in 
the  cool  breezes  of  the  north.  Boats  were  usually 
very  much  crowded,  so  that  it  was  sometimes  dif- 
ficult for  us  way  passengers  to  obtain  a  berth. 
The  wily  Davidson  was  after  the  lucrative  traffic 
and  another  object  he  had  was  to  get  control  of 
this  line  and  wreck  it  for  his  own  benefit.  So  as 
I  said  he  commenced  cutting  passenger  rates  un- 
til the  rate  for  passenger  transportation  to  St. 
Paul  from  St.  Louis  was.cul  down  to  one  dollar 
and  boats  of  both  lines  were  crowded  with  all 
sorts  of  passengers,  carrying  with  them  their  own 
provisions.  This  was  kept  up  for  some  months. 
In  the  fall  both  companies  were  exhausted.  Un- 
fortunately for  our  company  they  agreed  to  let 
Davidson  in  the  next  season.  Capt.  Tom  Buford 
called  on  the  stockholders  in  the  winter  for  their 


190 

signatures  and  the  fatal  deed  was  done.  Stock- 
holders received  no  dividends  after  this  as  by  the 
time  the  two  companies  were  out  of  debt,  David- 
son had  control,  having  secured  the  control  of  a 
majority  of  the  stockholders.  It  was  done  in  this 
way,  the  Keokuk  or  McUne  line,  as  it  was  called, 
running  between  St.  Louis  and  Keokuk  had  been 
merged  with  the  Northern  Line  some  two  years 
before  Davidson  had  been  taker,  in.  McUne  dy- 
ing, who  owned  most  of  the  stock  in  this  line,  it 
was  found  that  the  line  was  heavily  in  debt  and 
that  the  stock  must  be  *old  to  pay  the  indebted- 
ness. Our  people  ought  to  have  bought  it  at  once, 
but  did  not, and  Davidson  stepedin  and  bought  it 
which  gave  him  the  control  of  the  Northern  Line 
by  some  few  shares  of  stock.  The  directors  of  the 
Northern  Line  had  been  elected  for  another  year 
a  short  time  before  the  sale.  So  Davidson  did  not 
get  control  until  the  next  year,  in  about  1870. 

The  first  thing  Davidson  done  the  next  season 
was  to  call  on  the  stockholders  of  the  line  for  a 
20  per  cent  assessment  to  pay  off  the  indebted- 
ness made  by  repairs  etc.  Some  of  them  were 
foolish  enough  to  respond.  Our  old  citizen,  Bill 
Henderson  paid  his  20  per  cent  on  $30,000  worth 
of  stock,  for  which  he  never  received  a  cent. 
Some  $55,000  worth  of  this  stock  was  owned  and  is 
still  held  in  Rock  Island.  This  robber,  of  every 
steamboat  interest  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  has 
gone  to  his  revvard.  When  he  consumated  his 


191 

last  and  greatest  steal  in  St.  Louis  he  was  bold- 
ing  outdoor  revival  meetings  on  the  levee  of  St. 
Louis, arid  he  took  his  final  departure  from  this 
world  in  all  the  order  of  sanctity. 

This  in  brief  is  a  rough  sketch  of  the  rise  and 
culmination  of  navigation  on  the  upper  Mississi:»- 
pi  as  carried  on  by  these  powerful  companies 
whose  substantial  well  constructed,  commodious 
boats  once  plowed  the  waters  of  this  grand  old 
river,  the  upper  Mississippi.  Now  its  waters  flow 
on  almost  un vexed  towards  the  sea.  A  few  or- 
dinary stern  wheel  boats  belonging  to  the  Dia- 
mond Jo  Line,  a  few  raft  boats  towing  logs  to  the 
saw  mills  along  the  river,  a  few  small  boats  ply- 
ing between  cities  scattered  along  the  river.  This 
is  what  has  taken  the  place  of  the  magnificent 
boats  of  years  ago,  transporting  the  thousands  of 
passengers  who  for  pleasure  or  business  crowded 
their  decks.  It  causes  a  feeling  of  sadness  to 
steal  over  me  when  I  think  of  the  many 
pleasant  days,  I  have  passed  in  going  down 
the  great  river,  of  the  many  pleasant  casual 
acquaintances  I  have  made,  of  the  many  warm 
friends  I  had  amoung  the  captains,  pilots  and 
clerks,  now  all  gone  with  the  exception  of  here 
and  there  an  aged  one  who  still  remains.  They 
have  left  this  state  of  existance  for  a  better  and 
brighter  one.  Government  is  spending  large 
amounts  every  year  in  improving  the  navigation 
of  the  river,  and  the  river  is  now  in  a  better  con- 


192 

dition  for  navigation  than  ever  before,  but  the 
outlay  seems  almost  useless  as  far  as  transporta- 
tion of  any  kind  of  freight  is  concerned.  Rail* 
roads  now,  anaconda  like  with  almost  contin- 
ous  lines  along  each  side  of  the  river,  throttle  all 
attempts  at  competition  in  this  day  when  rapid 
transit  is  required,  saving  insurance  and  loss  of 
time.  People  have  become  so  accustomed  to  be 
whirled  along  at  the  rate  of  forty  miles  an  hour 
that  I  fear  if  some  enterprising  capitalist  would 
invest  his  surplus  in  a  few  fast  steamers  for  the 
accommodation  of  Southern  tourists  he  would  be 
.disappointed.  Perhaps  in  after  ages  when  the 
Americans  shall  have  learned  the  lesson  that  this 
mad  rush  after  wealth  is  a  delusion,  shall  have 
learned  to  be  more  quiet,  the  dear  old  river  may 
be  restored  to  its  former  usefulness.  Then  social, 
happy  intercourse  shall  once  more  be  found  in 
the  pallatial  cabins  of  the  steamers  of  the  fu- 
ture. If  Uncle  Sam  is  making  these  many  im- 
provements with  this  object  in  view — all  right. 


Breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion.    Incidents  of  the 
Civil  War  in  Galena. 


In  1860  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebel- 
lion the  first  company  of  soldiers  organized  in 
Galena  belonged  to  the  12th  regiment  of  volun- 
teers. McArthur  was  the  colonel  in  command 
and  Augustus  Chetlain  was  elected  captain.  The 


193 

regiment  was  ordered  to  go  to  East  St.  Louis. 
They  went  into  camp  a  few  miles  back  from  the 
river  at  the  base  of  the  bluff.  They  were  sent 
there  soon  after  the  breaking  up  of  the  rebels, 
who  had  gathered  at  camp  Jackson,  to  watch  the 
further  moves  of  the  rebels,  of  St.  Louis.  I  went 
down  there  with  some  supplies  the  ladies  had  fit- 
ted out  for  our  boys.  Rubber  blankets  were  made 
for  the  whole  company.  I  camped  and  messed 
with  the  boys  two  or  three  days.  My  only  ex- 
perience of  camp  life.  They  had  a  rebel  prison- 
er with  them,  a  Mr.  McDonald,  who  was  so  out- 
rageous that  Gen.  Lyon  sent  him  over  to  Col. 
McArthur  for  safe  keeping.  He  was  one  of  the 
captains  at  camp  Jackson.  While  there  I  went 
over  to  St.  Louis  on  business.  Calling  at  the 
counting  room  of  my  friend  Rufus  Lackland,  I 
found  quite  a  number  of  men  there  who  sympa- 
thized with  the  rebellion.  They  said  Missouri 
would  secede.  I  told  them  if  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  the  state  wished  to  leave  the  Union 
they  would  not  be  allowed  to  secede.  The  hotel 
at  which  I  stepped  was  kept  by  Sparks  &  Sparr. 
They  were  both  sympathizers  and  denounced  the 
d d  dutch  soldiers,  who  attacked  camp  Jack- 
son under  the  brave  Gen.  Lyon.  Sparks  former- 
ly kept  the  De  Soto  House  in  Galena,  and  he  and 
Sparr  took  and  kept  the  Lindell  in  St.  Louis  when 
it  first  opened.  Captain  Ulysses  Grant  was  at 
this  time  a  clerk  in  the  leather  store  of  Grant  & 

13 


194 

Perkins.  I  bought  the  rubber  goods  of  him  from 
which  the  coats  were  made  for  the  boys  in  camp  at 
East  St.  Louis.  I  first  met  Capt.  Grant  in  1859  in 
the  Galena  market  square.  He  was  buying  dress- 
ed hogs  to  ship  to  his  father  in  Ohio.  He  had 
on  a  soldiers  blue  overcoat.  I  inquired  who  he 
was  and  was  told  he  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Jesse  Grant. 
He  then  lived  in  a  small  frame  tenement  on  the 
hill,  a  quiet  reticeiit  man  then,  but  little  known 
He  came  to  Galena  from  St.  Louis  in  the  fall  of 
1857.  He  had  been  trying  to  make  a  living  on  a 
farm  a  few  miles  out  of  St.  Louis  given  him  by  his 
father-in-law,  Mr.  Dent,  While  on  the  farm,  in 
the  winter  season  he  would  haul  wood  into  SL 
Louis  and  sell  it.  A  St.  Louis  merchant,  a  friend 
of  mine  told  me  he  bought  a  number  of  cords  of 
him.  In  conversation  with  R.  H.  McClellan,  of 
Galena,  he  said  that  he  had  received  a  military 
education  at  West  Point  and  that  in  this  contest 
for  the  existance  of  our  free  institutions  he  felt 
that  his  services  were  due  to  his  country.  Mr. 
McClellan  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature 
and  he  gave  him  a  letter  to  Governor  Dick  Yates. 
He  set  him  to  work  drilling  the  new  regiments  of 
volunteers  that  had  gathered  at  Springfield. 
He  was  soon  after  given  the  command  of 
that  wild  unruly  regiment,  that  he  led  to  Miss- 
ouri. He  had  no  money  to  buy  a  horse  and 
equipments,  and  he  applied  to  E.  A.  Collins,  who 
had  been  a  partner  with  his  father  in  the  Galena 


195 

store,  who  loaned  him  $200  for  his  outfit.  E.  A. 
Collins  done  this  much  for  the  Union  cause  and 
as  the  sequel  proved,  this  little  act  of  kindness  to 
the  son  of  his  former  partner  had  far  reaching 
consequences.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  neigh- 
bor Collins  was  so  far  carried  away  by  his  party 
sympathy  with  the  democracy  of  the  South  that 
he  was  considered  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebel 
element  of  Galena.  That  there  was  a  strong  rebel 
element  in  and  around  Galena,  some  of  the  South- 
ern leaders  were  led  to  believe  by  the  representa- 
tions made  to  them  through  a  correspondence 
that  was  opened  with  Mr.  Boteller,  a  member  of 
congress  from  Virginia  by  M.  Y.  Johnson.  It  is 
said  that  he  told  Boteller  that  quite  a  strong  num- 
ber of  people  about  Galena  sympathized  with  the 
South.  This  was  about  the  time  that  some  of  the 
rebel  leaders  who  were  in  Canada,  tried  to  organ- 
ize a  force  to  liberate  and  arm  the  rebel  prisoners 
in  Chicago,  and  also  the  large  number  of  prison- 
ers confined  at  the  barracks  on  Rock  Island. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  there  was  a  well  concocted 
conspiracy  organized  by  the  rebels  for  this  object. 
M.  Y.  Johnson,  who  was  a  pronounced  rebel,  in 
his  bragging,  boasting  way  trying  to  show  his  im- 
portance, no  doubt  led  the  rebel  leaders,  some  of 
them  at  least,  to  believe  that  he  could  make  a  large 
diversion  in  their  favor  in  this  section.  The  day 
we  received  the  news  of  the  death  of  that  brave 
leader,  Lyon,  in  Southwest  Missouri,  I  heard  John- 


196 

son  say  he  was  glad  of  it,  and  that  he  wished  all 
the  soldiers  who  went  there  to  invade  Missouri 
were  hung,  or  that  they  ought  to  be. 

There  were  a  large  number  of  Irish  Catholics 
in  Galena.  They  were  so  carried  away  by  their 
love  of  Democracy  that  the  large  mass  of  them 
sympathized  with  the  South.  One  of  their  num- 
ber however,  William  Ryan,  a  strong  union  man, 
and  a  man  of  great  influence  among  them,  com- 
menced raising  a  company  of  volunteers  in  1863 
and  induced  a  large  number  of  the  most  rough 
and  unruly  ones  to  join,  and  a  full  company  was 
made  up  from  Galena  and  vicinity.  I  think  they 
went  to  Chicago  and  became  part  of  the  regiment 
under  Milligan  or  Corcoran.  Mr.  Ryan's  efforts  were 
untiring,  sparing  neither  time  or  means  in  get- 
ing  this  unruly  element  away  to  where  they  might 
be  of  service  to  his  country's  cause.  At  one  time 
during  the  war  things  looked  so  threatening  with 
us  in  consequence  of  the  attitude  of  the  rebel  ele- 
ment among  us  that  the  loyal  men  were  furnish- 
ed with  arms  by  the  state,  and  a  company  was 
formed  of  a  hundred  or  more  who  met  on  the 
hill  once  or  tw?ice  a  week  for  the  purpose  of  drills, 
and  our  Union  League  met  often  in  our  hall.  In 
1864  when  I  was  in  St.  Louis  I  bought  and  for- 
warded to  my  friend  Huntington,  some  20  to  30 
Henry  16  shooter  rifles  costing  §50  each,  sending 
one  to  be  used  by  myself.  In  1863  the  county 
was  offering  a  bounty  for  volunteers  to  fill  up  the 


197 

96th  regiment.  There  was  a  large  crowd  collect- 
ed around  the  headquarters  of  the  recruiting  sta- 
tton,  and  there  was  considerable  excitement.  A 
burly  Englishman  from  the  country  was  very 
noisy  and  boisterous  in  his  rebel  talk,  saying  the 
county  would  not  pay  the  bounty,  that  they  had 
no  right  to  offer  a  bounty.  I  said  to  him  you 
will  be  arrested  if  you  keep  up  this  talk,  discour- 
aging enlistments,  I  stood  close  to  him,  he  drew 
off  to  strike  me,  but  my  good  friend  Scribe  Har- 
ris stood  just  behind  me.  He  struck  the  burly 
Englishman  over  my  shoulder  and  he  lay  pros- 
trated at  my  feet.  This  affray  led  to  the  arrest 
of  the  Englishmen  for  discouraging  enlistments 
and  a  little  German  corporal,  who  had  been  dis- 
charged from  his  company,  and  had  been  talking 
about  the  enlistments  was  also  arrested.  The  next 
day  the  United  States  marshall,  J.  Russel  Jones 
came  over  and  arrested  M.  Y.  Johnson  and  David 
Sheean.  They  were  transported  to  Fort  Lafayette 
and  serving  their  country  there  a  short  time,  they 
were  set  a  liberty.  Ttie  rebel  element  was  toler- 
able quiet  after  this  until  1864,  when  the  assem- 
bled, Democracy  at  Chicago  declared  uthe  war  a 
failure, "and  nominated  their  favorite  McClelland, 
one  of  the  greatest  failures  as  a  leader  of  armies 
that  was  thrown  to  the  surface  during  the  war. 
I  wish  1  could  recall  his  boasting  words  in  his 
address  to  his  little  army  on  their  return  from 
West  Virginia  where  they  had  been  engaged  in  a 


198 

few  skirmishes,  which  could  hardly  be  called  batt- 
les, fn  this  address  he  aped  the  style  of  the  great 
Napoleon  in  his  famous  addresses  to  his  troops 
whose  battles  decided  the  fate  of  nations.  During 
this  fall  the  rebel  portion  of  the  Democracy  were 
very  out-spoken  and  aggressive  in  the  North.  It 
was  at  this  time,  when  I  was  living  in  St.  Louis 
that  1  sent  up  the  rifles.  We  raised  a  fund  of  some 
$2,000  for  the  support  of  the  destitute  familes  of 
the  volunteers  who  had  enlisted.  This  fund  was 
destributed  to  their  families  by  I.  A.  Packard 
and  myself.  When  the  soldiers  in  Capt.  Conner's 
company  received  their  pay,  the  captain  sent  it  to 
me  and  I  paid  it  over  to  their  families.  The  cap- 
tain, who  was  an  uncleof  Major  McKenzieofRock 
Island,  was  killed  in  the  battle  at  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing. He  was  a  noble,  brave  man,  the  soul  of 
honor.  Sanitary  stores  were  gathered  in  from 
Galena  and  surrounding  country  and  forwarded 
to  the  different  regiments  composed  in  part  of  Jo 
Daviess  Co.,  volunteers.  In  1862  Mr.  Washburn  ob- 
tained commissions  for  the  officers  of  a  regiment 
called  the  Leadmine  regiment.  It  was  the  45th; 
John  A.  Rawlins  was  Colonel,  J.  A.  Maltby,  Lieut- 
enant CoUnel,  and  John  E.  Smith,  was  Major. 
The  regiment  was  soon  filled  up  and  it  was  dis- 
tinguished as  a  crack  regiment  in  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg.  As  is  well  known,  John  A.  Rawlins 
was  selected  by  Gen.  Grant  as  his  chief  of  staff, 
and  his  right  hand  man  all  through  the  war.  His 


199 

father  was  a  charcoal  burner  out  in  the  wooded 
hills  of  Jo  Daviess.  He  was  often  seen  in  the 
streets  of  Galena  supplying  the  blacksmiths  with 
charcoal.  His  son  who  had  received  a  good  edu- 
cation came  into -Galena  a  few  years  before  the 
war  and  commenced  the  study  and  practice  of. 
law.  Hexacquired  the  reputation  of  being  in  the 
way  of  becoming  a  successful  lawyer.  John  E. 
Smith  the  genial,  fun  loving  neighbor  of  mine 
was  a  great  favorite  of  Gen.  Grant  and  rose  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general.  William  E,  Rowley 
who  went  out  from  Galena  as  a  captain  in  the 
12th  regiment  became  afterwards  a  member  of 
Gen.  Grant's  staff.  He  had  been  the  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court  of  Jo  Daviess  county  for  a  few  years 
before  the  war. 

In  looking  back  over  the  history  of  the  great 
contest  for  liberty,  how  often  do  we  find  men  of 
low  degree  coming  up  from  the  ranks  taking  the 
foremost  positions  before  the  close  of  the  war,  and 
some  of  the  officers  of  the  regular  army  proving 
to  be  utter  failures.  The  apparently  strong,  dis- 
tanced and  beaten  by  the  weak  things  of  this 
world. 

When  the  news  came  to  us  of  the  fall  of  Vicks- 
burg  we  had  a  glorious  celebration,  large  dele- 
gations came  in  from  the  country  and  from  Iowa. 
Bands  of  music  and  banners  waving  filled  the 
streets. 

I  might  as  well  give  a  sketch  of  what  I  knew  of 


200 

the  life  Gen.  Grant  in  connection  with  Galena. 
After  he  passed  through  Missouri  we  next  hear 
of  him  dealing  telling  blows  to  the  rebels  at  Bel- 
mont,  in  Missouri,  a  few  miles  below  Cairo.  He 
is  next  permitted  to  organize  a  force  to  penetrate 
•Tennessee.  Forts  Henry  and  Donaldson  are 
quickly  captured  by  this  swift  moving  little  cap- 
tain. Next  comes  the  two  days  of  bloody  battle 
of  Pittsburg  Landing,  where  by  his  unflinching 
pertinacity  he  turned  apparent  defeat  into  vic- 
tory. Soon  after  this  a  strong  systematic  effort 
was  made  to  crush  him  because  he  did  not  make 
daily  reports  to  headquarters,  at  St.  Louis  and 
Washington;  red  tape  required  it,  and  he  had  the 
audacity  to  make  d  trip  of  reconnoissance  up  the 
Tennessee  to  Nashville  to  look  at  the  situation 
there,  and  gave  an  opinion  that  it  might  easily 
be  taken  if  moved  on  at  once.  He  does  this  with- 
out consulting  Gen.  McClelland.  He  was  tem- 
porarily suspended.  He  became  discouraged  and 
asked  repeatedly  to  be  relieved  of  his  command. 
He  would  have  been  crushed  had  it  not  been  for 
the  powerful  influence  of  E.  B.  Washburne.  I 
saw  and  read  all  the  dispatches  that  passed  be- 
tween him  and  the  department  about  a  month 
after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  in  which 
he  says  at  three  different  times,  "I  asked  to  be  re- 
lieved." Copies  of  all  these  dispatches  were  sent 
to  his  friends  in  Galena  to  hold  as  his  vindica- 
tion in  the  future.  This  silent  swift  moving  man 


201 

well  knew  that  he  had  done  his  duty,  and  the 
country  began  to  see  it  too.  Four  years  after  he 
left  Galena,  soon  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  he 
visited  his  old  home  and  what  a  rousing  recep- 
tion we  gave  him.  The  citizens  of  Galena  had 
purchased  for  him  a  comfortable  brick  house  on 
the  East  Side  of  the  river  and  had  furnished  it 
with  everything  to  make  it  agreeable  and  cosy. 
When  he  went  through  the  house  and  saw  what 
his  kind  Galena  lady  friends  had  done  for  his 
comfort  and  convenience,  as  he  came  out  of  the 
house  silent  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks.  The 
reflection  also  no  doubt  effected  him  in  contrast- 
ing his  present  situation  with  that  of  only  four 
short  years  ago.  He  was  then  poor  and  almost 
unknown,  and  now  he  was  the  foremost  he^o  of 
the  war. 

A  day  was  set  in  which  he  would  receive  all 
who  wished  to  see  him  at  his  new  home.  Im- 
mense crowds  came  to  see  him,  and  greetand  wel- 
come the  hero.  As  he  sat  on  the  lawn  in  front  of 
his  house,  I  came  along  leading  my  little  daugh- 
ter by  the  hand.  He  called  her  to  him  and  held 
her  in  his  lap  for  some  time.  Like  all  truly  great 
men  he  was  passionatly  fond  -of  children.  He 
was  not  the  stoical  impasable  man  that  many 
thought  him  to  be,  but  was  loving  and  sympa- 
thetic. He  always  had  a  warm  affection  for  his 
old  Galena  friends,  and  if  he  could  have  chos- 
en would  no  doubt  have  ended  his  days  in  his 


202 

quiet  little  home  on  the  hill.  In  the  evening 
there  was  a  reception  given  in  the  post  office 
building  at  which  General  Chetlain  standing  at 
his  side  introduced  che  crowds  that  called  to  take 
him  by  the  hand. 

Gen.  John  C.  Smith,  who  enlisted  in  the  96th 
regiment  and  was  elected  Capt.  of  his  company 
was  a  Galena  carpenter.  He  made  a  good  record 
during  the  war  attaining  the  rank  of  brigadier 
general  at  its  close  He  was  the  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  masonic  fraternity  of  Illinois.  He  was 
elected  state  treasurer,  and  now  is  living  in  Chi- 
cago. 

George  Hicks  another  Galena  boy,  a  great  fav- 
orite of  H.  H.  Houghton  as  well  as  of  others,  en- 
listed in  the  96th  regiment  and  waselected  captain. 
He  was  a  lawyer  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  he 
went  toFreeportand  opened  a  law  office  with 
Gen.  Atkins.  Someyears  later  he  to  went  Jamaica 
int.he  West  Indias,  where  he  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  schools  of  that  Island.  He  made  a  vis- 
it to  his  old  home  in  1893. 

Noted  Leading  Men  of  Galena. 

Among  the  many  old  time  Galena  merchants 
of  that  day  were  B.  H.  Campbell,  J.  Russel 
sel  Jones,  James  Rood,  J,  A.  Packard,  W.  I.  Quann 
and  Edward  Hempstead,  all  of  whom  moved  to 
Chicago  many  years  ago,  and  they  all  have  taken 


203 

a  leading  part  in  the  business  of  that  cit}'.  Among 
the  old  time  lawyers  were  E.  A,  Small,  J.  M. 
Douglas,  Thomas  Hoyne,  Vanhiggins,  Thomas 
Drummond  and  E.  M.  Bradly.  All  these  men  of 
mark  left  Galena  many  years  ago  and  settled  in 
Chicago,  they  have  all  made  a  good  record  in  the 
city  of  their  adoption.  J.  M.  Douglas,  who  went 
there  in  1858,  in  1856.  when  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral railroad  reached  Galena,  at  the  reception 
given  the  officers  attho  De  Soto  House  made  the 
speech  of  welcome  to  them.  They  were  so  well 
pleased  with  the  marked  ability  he  displayed  in 
this  address,  that  soon  after  they  tendered  him 
the  appointment  of  general  attorney  of  the  road 
with  headquarters  at  Chicago,  and  a  salary  of  $10- 
000.  He  was  afterwards  elected  president  of  the 
road  and  served  in  that  capacity  some  years. 
Another  young  lawyer  who  left  Galena  many 
3^ears  ago  and  settled  in  Chicago  and  attained 
prominence  there  was  J.  N.  Jewett.  He  married 
a  daughter  of  my  old  friend  Major  John  R. 
Roundtree,  of  Platteville,  Wisconsin.  There  are 
many  other  of  lessor  note  who  emigrated  to  Chi- 
cago years  ago  whose  sons  have  become  famous. 
Mayor  George  B,  Swift,  the  two  Kohlsatt  boys, 
and  Scott  the  editor  of  the  Herald.  I  knew  the 
fathers  of  these  boys  well.  Not  only  has  Chicago 
taken  in  and  absorbed  a  large  numberofthe  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Galena,  but  nearly  every  town  in 
the  Great  West  has  or  had  its  sprinkling  of  old 


204 

time  Galenians.  Galena  may  well  be  called  the 
seed  ground  of  the  West.  In  1848  some  of  our 
citizens  wrote  to  Ed.  Baker,  the  silver  tounged 
orator  of  Illinois  who  then  lived  at  Springfield  to 
come  and  settle  in  Galena,  the  object  of  the  invi- 
tation was  to  give  him  the  nomination  for  Con- 
gress. He  came  and  received  the  nomination 
and  was  elected  with  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor.  He 
made  his  home  at  Galena  for  two  or  three  years 
then  went  to  Oregon  and  was  I  think  elected  a  sen- 
ator from  that  state.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  he  resigned  his  position  as  senator,  making 
an  eloquent  stirring  speech  in  the  senate  at  the 
time.  He  served  as  colonel  sometime,  and  lost 
his  life  at  that  disastrous  conflict  at  Balls  Bluff. 
He  was  the  rnosi;  eloquent  man  I  ever  heard.  As 
a  legislator  he  was  not  a  success.  He  lacked 
application  and  business  energy.  His  flight  of 
oratory  were  marvelous,  soaring  up  to  the  heav- 
ens swaying  the  multitudes  who  listened  to  him 
as  no  other  public,  speaker  that  I  ever  heard 
could. 

Galena  at  one  time  was  famous  for  its  many 
talented  clergymen.  Rev.  Arthur  Swazey  who 
was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  was  a  very 
able  and  affable  gentleman.  He  went  to  Chicago 
and  was  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Interior.  J.  H. 
Vincent  a  bright  eloquent  young  man  was  pas- 
tor of  the  Methodist  church  for  three  years.  We 
first  heard  him  preach  at  a  conference  held  in  Ga- 


205 

lena.  He  took  his  hearers  all  by  storm  by  his 
kind  loving  manner,  and  my  good  friend  Hunt- 
ington  had  influence  enough  to  get  him  as  pastor 
at  Galena  the  next  year.  He  has  since  been  not- 
ed for  his  work  at  Chatauqua.  He  is  now  one 
of  the  most  influential  of  the  bishops  of  the  Meth- 
odists. Mr.  Magoori  another  strong  eloquent 
logical  preacher  came  to  Galena  a  young  man, 
from  a  seminary  of  learning  at  Platteville,  Wis- 
consin. He  entered  upon  his  first  charge  as  pas- 
tor of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church.  Preach- 
ing here  a  few  years  he  was  called  to  take  the 
presidency  of  Grindell  college  in  Iowa.  He  is 
now  I  believe  at  the  head  of  some  institution  of 
learning  in  New  York. 

Galena  in  1856. 

In  1856  Galena  had  reached  the  culminating 
point  of  her  prosperity.  She  owned  and  controll- 
ed a  large  share  of  the  steamboat  interest  on  the 
upper  Mississippi.  Had  a  daily  line  of  packets 
running  to  Rock  Island  another  daily  line  run- 
ning between  the  rapids,  besides  holding  large 
shares  of  stock  in  a  daily  line  of  boats  plying  be- 
tween St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul.  All  their  lines 
with  the  magnificent  fleet  of  boats  engaged  in  the 
St.  Paul  trade  formed  such  a  combination  for  nav- 
igating the  waters  of  the  great  river  as  I  fear  alas  ! 
will  never  again  be  seen.  Galena  at  this  time 


206 

had  a  large  number  of  wholesale  houses  in  nearly 
all  departments  of  trade.  Nearly  all  of  them  mak- 
ing their  purchases  in  the  east,  and  at  New 
Orleans,  doing  little  or  no  business  with  Chicago, 
some  with  St.  Louis.  Her  merchants  supplied 
the  whole  northwest  including  Northern  Iowa, 
Minnesota  and  Western  Wisconsin.  Nearly  all 
the  lumber  interests  of  Western  and  middle  Wis- 
consin, including  the  valley  of  the  Wisconsin  ob- 
tained their  supplies  of  goods  and  money  advan- 
ces from  Galena.  With  the  extension  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  and  other  railroads  to  the  Mississip- 
pi and  the  rapid  growth  of  that  young  giant  city 
on  Lake  Michigan,  her  trade  gradually  fell  off 
until  she  only  had  the  trade  lying  contiguous  to 
her  on  the  north.  The  country  areund  is  well 
settled  and  she  still  has  a  very  good  retail  trade, 
and  any  one  who  is  fond  of  wild  picturesque 
scenery  and  is  fond  of  a  quiet,  peaceful  life  can 
find  a  pleasant  home  still  in  dear  old  Galena. 

One  other  incident  connected  with  the  civil 
war.  In  1861  or  '62  the  powder  mill  at  Platte- 
ville  sent  in  200  kegs  or  more  of  powder  to  be 
shipped  to  St.  Louis.  It  was  stored  on  the  land- 
ing below  town  in  front  of  my  pork  heuse.  I 
think  it  was  just  before  the  camp  Jackson  affair, 
when  the  rebels  had  control  in  St.  Louis.  The 
agent  for  the  powder  mills  said  it  was  for  blasting 
powder'lin  the  mines  of  Southwest  Mi?souri,  but  we 
knew  it  could  be  used  for  war  purposes.  Some 


207 

of  my  neighbors  said  it  ought  not  to  be  allowed 
to  go  on  the  boat,  I  said  let  a  dozen  of  us  go  down 
and  I  would  tell  the  captain,  whom  I  knew,  that 
it  must  not  go.  The  boat  had  already  taken 
some  on  board.  It  did  not  go,  but  was  taken 
back  to  the  powder  mill.  In  a  few  days  we  heard 
that  the  powder  in  the  powder  house  above  St. 
Louis  belonging  to  the  Lafflins  to  whom  this  pow- 
der was  consigned,  was  taken  and  used  by  the 
rebels. 

My  Sojourn  in  St.  Louis  Building  Grain  Elevators. 

I  had"  closed  up  most  of  my  business  in  1858  and 
when  the  war  broke  out  I  did  not  feel  like  enter- 
ing into  any  business.  Did  not  like  speculating 
on  the  wants  of  my  country  in  her  peril.  I  de- 
voted the  most  of  my  time  in  different  ways 
in  trying  to  help  along  the  interests  of  the 
boys  engaged  in  the  great  struggle.  I  was  fifty 
years  old,  two  old  and  frail  for  active  service  in 
the  field.  In  the  fall  of  1863,  some  of  my  St. 
Louis  friends  urged  and  requested  me  as  I  was  in 
no  active  business  to  come  down  arid  organize  a 
company  for  the  construction  of  a  grain  elevator 
The  boats  of  the  northern  line  in  which  I  had  an 
interest  as  well  as  other  boats  engaged  in  carrying 
grain  to  the  St.  Louis  market,  felt  the  want  of  ele- 
vators to  assist  in  handling  the  large  amount  of 
grain  that  was  brought  down  in  sacks.  So  1  went 


208 

clown  in  October  and  had  some  talk  with  the 
millers  and  commission  men  who  all  seemed  to 
favor  the  project  if  the  right  to  put  one  up  on  the 
levee  could  be  obtained.  The  city  had  hertofore 
prevented  anything  being  put  up  on  the  levee, 
stretching  along  the  river  nearly  two  miles,  and 
that  it  must  be  held  sacred  lor  the  landing  of 
boats.  We  organized  a  company  of  corporators, 
and  before  going  to  the  legislation  I  made  a  con- 
ditional agreement  with  the  Lindell  heirs  to  per- 
chase  200  feet  of  ground  fronting  on  the  river.  I 
then  went  to  the  legislature  which  was  in  session 
at  Jefferson  City,  and  with  the  help  of  some  radi- 
cal friends  who  were  in  the  majority  in  the  legis- 
ture,  I  succeeded  in  getting  passed  such  a  charter 
as  we  required,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000. 
The  company  was  organized  and  some  stock  was 
taken.  Theadore  Lanville  and  myself  each  tak- 
ing $20,000,  We  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  the 
stock  taken,  as  trade  in  St.  Louis  was  much  de- 
pressed owing  to  the  war  and  then  being  cut  off 
in  part  from  the  Southern  trade.  There  was  an 
extra  session  of  the  legislature  called  in  January 
1864,  Chancey  0.  Filley,  the  mayor  and  his  en- 
gineer went  up  to  Jefferson  secretly  and  induced 
the  legislature  to  adopt  an  amendment  to  our 
charter,  giving  the  mayor  the  right  to  accept  or 
reject  our  plans  for  an  elevator  on  the  levee. 
When  I  showed  him  our  plans,  he  had  one  that 
was  wholly  impracticable.  A  few  days  after  this, 


209 

as  luck  would  have  it  one  of  our  directors,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  city  council  happened  to  be 
acting  mayor  one  day  and  signed  our  plans.  A.  W. 
Fagan  remarking  as  he  signed  it,  "The  pen  is 
more  powerful  than  the  sword."  Thus  the  little 
mayor's  scheme  for  blackmail  was  thwarted.  I 
was  very  materially  assisted  in  my  efforts  to  get 
the  stock  taken  by  my  old  New  York  friends,  Dr. 
Vanzant  and  Judge  Krum.  I  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  company  and  I.  H.  Alexander,  secre- 
tary of  the  board  of  trade,  was  elected  secre- 
tary and  cashier.  We  found  it  very  difficult  to 
get  the  stock  taken,  with  the  exception  of  some 
$70,000  which  I  succeeded  in  having  taken  out- 
side, the  rest  was  taken  by  the  millers  and  com- 
mission men.  When  we  had  got  all  taken  after 
a  thorough  canvass  of  the  city  it  amoanted  to 
about  260,000.  When  the  building  was  com- 
pleted having  1,000,000  of  bushels  capacity  it 
cost  $500,000.  Everything  was  at  its  highest 
notch  with  gold  at  150  to  200.  When  finished 
we  borrowed  $200,000  issuing  bonds  for  the  same. 
Sometime  in  1864  I  resigned  my  position  as  pres- 
ident to  give  place  to  A.  W.  Fagan,  who  was  a 
man  of  means  and  influence,  and  it  was  thought 
he  might  by  giving  his  personal  attention  to  the 
affairs  of  the  institution  obtain  more  subscriptions 
to  the  stock.  I  stopped  at  the  Lindell  hotel  dur- 
ing all  my  stay  in  St,  Louis  of  over  two  years. 

When  it  was  finished  and  in  successful  operation, 
u 


210 

I  returned  to  Galena  in  the  spring  of  1866.  I 
had  the  satisfaction  of  causing  the  erection  of  the 
first  grain  elevator  in  St.  Louis.  I  put  in  over  two 
years  of  hard  anxious  work  receiving  but  a  meag- 
er compensation  for  the  same  and  but  small  div- 
idends for  some  years  after,  still  in  the  long  run 
it  paid  a  fair  interest  on  the  money  invested,  and 
besides  I  had  a  new  and  varied  experience  in  this 
old  fogy  city.  I  sold  the  last  stock  I  had  in  this 
elevator  in  the  winter  of  1893  just  in  time  to  avoid 
the  depression  in  all  stock  of  this  kind. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  during  the  McClelland  cam- 
paign a  large  mass  meeting  of  the  Democracy 
was  held  at  the  court  house  in  the  upper  hall.  I 
attended  with  a  number  of  other  Republicans. 
A  number  of  speeches  were  made,  lauding  Mc- 
Clelland and  congratulating  the  Democracy  that 
the  reign  of  the  Republicans- would  soon  end. 
They  were  mostly  quiet  and  moderate  in  their  re- 
marks except  one,  made  by  a  lawyer  by  the  name 
of  Lachland.  a  pronounced  out-spoken  rebel.  He 
made  a  most  violent  speech,  denouncing  the 
union  cause  in  the  most  bitter  terms.  Saying 
they  would  soon  be  free  men  and  that  the  reign 
of  tyrany  under  the  Republicans  would  soon  be 
over.  While  he  was  in  the  midst  of  his  treason- 
able tirade,  some  one  down  below  in  the  rotunda 
called  out  in  a  loud  voice.  "Fort  Gratiot!"  "Fort 
Gratiot!"  He  cooled  down  at  once.  The  next 
morning  sure  enough  he  was  cooling  his  seces- 


211 

sion  ardour  in  the  cool  recesses  of  the  military 
prison. 

Just  before  the  election,  the  Democracy  organ- 
ed  an  immense  demonstration,  a  street  parade, 
with  all  sorts  of  banners,  transparancies,  head 
lights  with  mottoes  about  the  war  being  a  failure, 
the  reign  of  tyrants  is  about  over  etc.  When 
they  were  passing  up  Washington  street  in  front 
of  the  Lindell  hotel,  I  saw  from  where  I  stood  on 
the  upper  balcony  a  number  of  boys  in  blue,  not 
more  than  forty  picking  up  the  stones  from  the 
newly  paved  street.  They  at  once  commenced 
throwing  stones  at  these  offensive  transparancies 
banners  and  head  lights.  In  less  than  ten  min- 
utes, their  aim  was  so  true,  that  all  these  offen- 
sive mottoes  were  lying  at  the  feet  of  their  bear- 
ers, and  the  whole  procession  was  broken,  many 
of  them  taking  to  their  heels.  Near  where  I  was 
standing  a  firey  young  Southerner  sheilding  him- 
selfbehind  a  pillar  drew  his  pistol  and  said  he  would 

shoot  the  d d  rascals  across  the  street.     The 

bystanders  siezed  him  and  took  his  pistol  away,  the 
landlord  Parks  saying  he  did  not  want  his  hotel 
bombarded.  Soon  a  squad  of  guards  who  had 
heard  the  disturbance  rushed  into  the  hotel  with 
fixed  bayonets  ready  for  a  charge.  A  man  stand- 
ing near  where  they  came,  near  a  window,  leap- 
ed out  through  the  window  crashing  the  glass, 
and  into  on  open  cellar  way,  on  the  stone  steps 
and  broke  his  neck.  This  was  the  only  fatal  cas- 


212 

ualty  growing  out  of  this  abortive  demonstration 
in  St.  Louis.  This  small  squad  of  soldiers  be- 
longed to  the  Jayhawkers  of  Kansas,  who  proba- 
bly had,  many  of  them,  suffered  in  the  past  from 
the  incursions  of  the  Missourians  into  their  state  a 
few  years  before.  This  perhaps  ought  to  excuse 
them  for  breaking  up  this  political  demonstration 
of  the  Democracy. 

While  boarding  at  the  Lindell  I  met  many  of 
our  prominent  men  identified  with  the  union 
cause.  Here  I  first  met  Gen.  Sherman.  I  could 
find  no  one  of  my  acquaintances  who  knew  him 
so  I  introduced  myselfas  a  Galenian,  a  townsman 
of  Gen.  Grant.  He  received  me  very  cordially 
and  entered  into  conversation  with  me.  His  wife 
and  little  ^irls  lived  in  the  Lindell  some  months 
and  almost  daily  we  went  up  the  elevator  togeth- 
er, I  met  Mrs.  Grant  with  Mrs.  Sherman  one  day 
in  the  parlor  of  the  hotel.. 

Gen.  Rosencranz  also  boarded  at  this  hotel 
while  he  had  the  command  in  St.  Louis.  He  was 
much  petted  by  the  rebel  sympathisers  and  was 
often  called  on  by  them  for  a  speech  on  any  and 
all  occasions  to  which  he  always  responded  mak- 
ing weak  wandering  speeches,  I  did  not  admire 
him  at  all,  and  I  found  that  some  who  had  served 
under  him  did  not  think  much  of  him  as  a  gen- 
eral. 

Near  the  last  of  October  in  1863  James  B.  Eades 
invited  me,  together  with  a  number  of  others  to 


213 

take  a  trial  trip  on  the  first  of  the  many  turreted 
gun  boats  that  he  built  for  the  government  for  the 
defense  of  the  Mississippi,  which  he  built  at  St. 
Louis.  We  steamed  down  the  river  for  some  miles. 
The  Winnebago  the  name  of  this  first  boat  seemed 
to  work  satisfactorily.  This  was  the  first  work  of 
this  kind  that  Oapt.  Eades  had  ever  done  for  the 
government.  He  and  his  partner  had  been  doing 
a  good  share  of  the  work  in  removing  snags  from 
the  lower  Mississippi  for  a  few  years  back.  As  is 
well  known  his  next  great  work  was  superintend- 
ing the  construction  of  the  great  bridge  across  the 
river  at  St.  Louis.  A  work  involving  the  high- 
est engineering  skill,  owing  to  the  difficulty  in 
securing  a  foundation  for  the  massive  structure. 
Having  to  go  down  seventy  feet  in  depth  through 
the  quick  sands,  in  order  to  finda  safe  foundation 
for  the  heavy  granite  piers  used  in  the  construc- 
tion. His  next  great  work  was  building  the  jet- 
ties belovv  New  Orleans  in  which  he  showed  the 
same  wonderful  engineering  talent  in  overcoming 
what  was  considered  to  be  unsurmountable  ob- 
stacles, making  the  strong  current  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  dredge  out  a  deep  channel  into  the 
deep  waters  of  the  gulf.  As  I  have  before  stated 
his  father  and  family  lived  in  early  days,  two  miles 
above  Le  Clair.  Capt.  Bersie  my  old  time  friend 
was  a  very  firm  friend  of  James  B.  Eades,  lending 
him  money  from  time  to  time  before  the  war,  all 
of  which  amounting  to  $17,000,  he  paid  back  to 


214 

me  as  executor  of  the  estate  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  When  wo  were  taking  this  trial  trip  a  fur- 
ious blinding  snow  storm  came  up.  The  snow 
fell  to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  inches.  At  night 
it  turned  quite  cold  and  the  streets  of  St. 
Louis  were  covered  with  frozen  snow  and  ice  in 
the  morning.  On  my  return  to  Galena  I  found 
we  had  been  having  mild  weather,  no  snow, 
no  frosts.  I  picked  my  crop  of  apples  on  my 
farm  just  out  of  town.  I  have  often  noticed  that 
sometimes  in  the  latitude  of  St.  Louis,  a  cold 
wave  strikes  that  section  much  earlier  than  it 
does  further  north.  My  theory  about  it  is  that  a 
cold  wave  comes  down  along  the  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  from  the  north  and  when  it  strikes  the 
latitude  of  St.  Louis,  it  is  met  with  westerly 
winds  and  diverged  east  along  the  base  of  the 
Ozark  Mountains.  This  latitude  seems  to  be  sub- 
ject to  great  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  One  day 
in  mid  summer  when  I  was  at  dinner  in  the  Lin- 
dell  House,  the  windows  were  all  open,  I  sudden- 
ly felt  intense  heat,  as  if  the  winter  furnace  and 
all  the  stoves  in  the  house  were  in  full  blast.  As 
I  went  out  into  the  street  on  my  way  up  to  the 
elevator  I  felt  hot  blasts  striking  my  face,  so  hot 
and  strong  coming  from  the  west  that  I  used  my 
handkerchief  to  shield  my  face  from  the  sirocco- 
like  blast.  This  intense  hot  blast  coming  from 
the  sandy  plains  of  the  west  kept  up  for  some 
hours.  When  the  elevator  was  completed  and 


.       215 

in  successful  operation  I  returned  to  Galena  in 
the  spring  of  1866.  Still  retaining  my  position 
as  a  director  until  1867,  when  I  resigned  my  of- 
fice of  director  to  give  place  to  I.  L.  Higby,  of 
Milwaukee,  whom  I  had  induced  to  take  stock  to 
the  amount  of  $20.000  in  1865;  he  came  to  St. 
Louis  in  ]  868  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
board  and  undertook  the  supervision  of  the  grain 
elevator.  Two  or  three  years  later  he  went  to  New 
Orleans  and  built  the  first  elevator  in  that  city. 

The  Return  From  Galena  in  1866  to  Bock  Island. 


Closing  my  connection  with  the  active*  opera- 
tions of  the  St.  Louis  elevator  in  the  spring  of 
1866  I  returned  to  Galena.  During  my  work  in 
St.  Louis  I  usually  returned  home  about  every 
four  or  six  weeks  to  visit  my  family.  My  old 
home,  Galena,  since  1856,  when  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral railroad  was  extended  to  Dunleith  opposite 
Dubuque  had  been  going  down.  The  steamboat 
interest  of  Galena  attempted  to  retain  their  com- 
merce on  the  river  by  erecting  a  large  warehouse 
at  Dunleith  for  the  reception  of  the  freight  for  the 
Central  and  the  offices  for  the  transaction  of  their 
business  were  held  therefor  some  years.  Some  of 
our  merchants  opened  branch  houses  there.  A 
large  commodious  hotel  called  the  Argyle  house 
was  built  by  parties  interested  in  the  railroad.  I 


216 

fo'mul  that  many  of  our  business  men  and  others 
had  gone  to  Chicago  and  other  points.  Very  many 
of  my  nearest  and  best  friends  had  left.  The  out 
look  for  a  further  residence  in  Galena  did  not  look 
very  inviting  to  me,  still  1  much  disliked  to  break 
up  and  sever  the  many  pleasant  associations  con- 
nected with  my  residence  of  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century  in  the  dear  old  town.  As  I  have  before 
stated  I  purchased  of  Hibbard  M.  Moore  in  1857 
the  place  that  I  now  occupy  on  the  corner  of  Fifth 
Avenue  and  Elm  or  30th  streets.  This '  interest 
as  well  as  the  larger  one  my  wife  had  in  the 
Brook's  estate,  made  me  turn  my  face  to  Rock 
Island,  where  I  had  spent  five  years  of  my  life  in 
the  West,  and  where  Ihad  married  my  good  wife. 
We  had  partially  kept  up  our  associations  with 
the  early  settlers  of  Rock  Island  by  making  vis- 
its to  my  wife's  people  quite  often.  The  parents  of 
my  wife  had  in  the  meantime  passed  away  as  well 
as  her  brother,  George,  leaving  of  the  family  only 
her  brother,  William,  and  herself. 

I  sold  my  farm  lying  near  the  Portage  for  some 
$2,000  less  than  I  paid  for  it  a  few  years  before. 
My  house  I  fortunately  found  a  customer  for  who 
paid  me  the  price  I  paid  for  it  years  before.  My 
other  property,  the  mill  interest  and  the  packing 
house,  candle  and  soap  factory  I  had  disposed  of  a 
short  time  before.  Settling  up  with  every  one,  we 
packed  up  our  household  goods  and  shipped  them 
on  a  steamboat  for  Rock  Island,  moving  into  my 


217 

present  home  which  Capt.  Jerry  Woods  had  re- 
cently vacated.  My  place  at  this  time  was  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  spots  in  Rock  Island.  Mr. 
Hibbard  Moore  from  whom  I  bought  it  was  very 
fonH-of  fruit  and  flowers  and  the  whole  of  the  two 
acres  was  covered  with  fruit  trees,  vines  and 
shrubs  which  the  carelessness  of  tenants  had  not 
been  able  to  impair  or  distroy.  Cherry,  apple, 
plum  and  pear  trees  I  found  in  full  bearing.  I 
have  all  through  my  life  been  a  great  ad- 
mirer and  lover  of  nature  in  all  its  wonderful 
forms  and  manifestations.  A  lonely  walk  in  the 
woods  always  had  more  attractions  for  me  than  a 
stroll  through  the  crowded  thoroughfare  of  a  city. 
The  scenes  that  greeted  me  at  my  homestead  and 
in  and  about  the  wooded  hills  of  Rock  Island  as 
well  as  some  of  the  winter  scenes  that  I  have  often 
witnessed  in  this  northern  land  of  bright  beauti- 
ful summer  weather  and  its  bitting  healthy  frosts 
of  winter,  I  have  endeavored  to  depict  in  the  fol- 
lowing faint  description.  In  so  far  as  beauty  is 
manifested  either  in  organic  or  inorganic  nature 
it  is  the  same.  Both  are  alike  beautiful.  Nature 
in  all  its  forms  and  manifestations  whether  in  the 
bright  dew  drop  of  early  morn,  in  the  many  hued 
tints  of  the  rainbow,  in  the  glorious  vision  of  the 
setting  sun  shining  through  fleecy  mists  or  the 
mighty  billows  of  old  ocean  as  they  come  rolling 
and  tumbling  to  the  shore  is  full  of  beauty.  A 
home  scene  in  early  spring.  A  May  morning,  a 


218 

soft  clear  atmosphere,  balmy  with  the  break  of 
spring.  All  around  is  a  circle  of  beauty,  a  dense 
grove  of  apple  and  cherry  trees  laden  with  a 
wealth  of  pure  white  and  rose  colored  blossoms. 
The  busy  bees  and  the  glad  carpi  of  birds  return- 
ing to  their  accustomed  haunts  falls  upon  the  ear. 
The  scarlet  Tanager  like  a  flash  of  light  and  fire 
and  the  Baltimore  Oriole  flies  in  and  out  from  the 
flower  laden  trees.  The  delicate  pale  green  of  the 
just  opening  leaves  of  the  maple,  the  tiny  leaves 
of  grass  just  awakening  and  springing  into  re- 
newed life  from  the  long  winter's  sleep.  All  these 
things  are  and  ought  to  be  sources  of  enjoyment 
to  us,  and  will  be  if  our  hearts  are  open  to  receive 
them.  Go  out  into  the  woods  on  a  bright  Octo- 
ber day,  a  hazy  atmosphere,  see  the  ripe  leaves, 
many  tinted,  gently  falling  to  the  ground.  Look 
up  and  see  what  a  wealth  of  splendor  clothes  the 
maple,  ash  and  linn,  and  even  the  homely  oak 
puts  on  a  robe  of  many  tints  of  brown.  This  is  a 
scene,  a  feast  we  may  all  enjoy  if  we  have  the  time 
.and  taste  to  take  a  ramble  over  the  wooded  hills. 
A  winter  scene  a  bright  clear  morning,during  the 
night  a  slight  rain  or  rnist  has  been  falling,  freez- 
ing as  it  fell,  covering  every  little  leaf,  every  little 
twig  and  limb  of  the  trees  with  a  coating  of  ice. 
The  sun  comes  up,  clear  and  shining.  Every  little 
point  becomes  irridescent  with  rainbow  hues. 
The  whole  earth  is  a  Jewell  of  gleaming  crystals 
hung  between  two  heavens,  beautiful  alike  in  sun- 


219 

shine  and  star  light,  glorious  and  beautiful  be- 
yond description.  Even  the  dullest  soul  will  ex- 
claim. "Oh  how  beautiful!"  Another  scene  from 
nature  found  in  central  Wisconsin.  A  small  beau- 
tiful lake  hemmed  in  and  surrounded  by  high  tow- 
ering cliffs.  The  rock  standing  up  in  splintered 
columns.  The  steep  sides  are  clothed  with  a 
growth  of  pine  and  other  trees.  The  water  is 
clear,  cold,  pure  and  as  soft  as  distilled  wjiter.  It 
is  without  visible  inlet  or  outlet.  A  line  let 
down  on  the  north  shore  175  feet  found  no  bot- 
tom. The  top  of  the  quartzite  bluffs  are  800  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  Wisconsin  -river.  So  pure 
and  clear  are  the  waters  of  this  picturesque  lake, 
that  the  steep  precipitous  rocks  and  the  evergreen 
trees  that  line  its  shores  are  reflected  in  its  cry- 
stal depths.  Take  *&  row  and  go  out  on  a  clear 
starlight  night,  along  the  north  shores,  gaze  down 
into  its  clear  depths  and  see  the  trees,  the  tall  col- 
munar  rocks  reflected  in  the  bright  water.  Look 
up  and  see  the  starry  hosts,  Gods  crown  jewels, 
diamonds  of  suns  and  worlds,  great  and  small. 
Then  look  down  in  the  depths  and  see  a  double 
world  of  reflected  beauty.  This  beautiful  lake  is 
only  six  miles  in  circumference  and  lies  40  miles 
west  of  Madison  on  the  line  of  the  Northwestern 
railroad.  Ascend  the  highest  point  800  feet  above 
the  Wisconsin  overlooking  the  valley  enclosed  by 
steep  rocky  bluffs  that  pass  out  towards  the 
river  and  you  see  in  the  distance  rounded  hills 


220 

and  fertile  valleys.  Go  back  into  the  woods  and 
you  find  the  wiritergreen  and  huckelberry  whose 
usual  home  is  much  further  north.  You  also  find 
on  one  of  the  high  points  overlooking  the  lake  a 
colossal  figure  looking  much  like  the  huge  form 
of  a  reclining  elephant  carved  out  and  fashioned 
either  by  the  elements  or  by  a  prehistoric  race  of 
mound  builders.  Near  the  highest  point  just  at 
your  feet  you  look  down  into  the  pot  holes  deep 
worn  into  the  hard  quartzite  rock.  How  came 
they  there?  Some  ages  ago  there  must  have  been 
an  npheavel  here  accompanied  by  intense  heats 
converting  the  soft  sand  stone  into  quartzite  as 
hard  as  granite.  Before  this  era  an  immense 
glazier  must  have  plowed  its  way  through  the  lake 
depression,  extending  from  the  east  and  terminat- 
ing a  in  large  moraine  at  the  west  end  of  the  lake 
some  75  feet  high,  and  one-half  mile  long.  The 
top  of  this  moraine  is  thickly  strewn  with  granite 
boulders,  but  on  this  moraine  are  found  no  frag- 
ments of  the  quartzite  rocks,  showing  clearly  that 
the  upheaval  of  this  large  tract  of  country  lying  in 
between  the  great  detour  of  the  Wisconsin  and 
the  Barraboo  rivers  occurred  after  theglazial  era. 
This  quartzite  formation  extends  up  the  Barraboo 
for  many  miles,  forming  the  high  cliffs  that  line 
the  shores  of  this  wild  little  river. 

I  will  now  return  to  my  prosy  narative  of  pass- 
ing current  events,  after  this  short  wandering 
into  the  realms  of  tancy.  I  may  occasionally  as 


221 

I  proceed  in  narrating  what  I  have  seen  and  know 
of  persons  and  events  on  the  upper  Mississippi 
insert  for  the  sake  of  variety  an  account  of 
some  of  the  communications  I  have  from  time  to 
time  published  in  our  local  papers  within  the 
last  twenty  years. 

The  growth  of  Rock  Island  had  been  very  grad- 
ual for  the  last  twenty  years,  When  the  Chicago 
and  Rock  Island  railroad  reached  here,  there  was 
quite  a  perceptible  improvement  for  a  few  years, 
particularly  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  along 
the  line  of  Fifth  avenue,  a  number  of  fine  resi- 
dences were  put  up  below  the  present  30th  street. 
The  Boyle  place  now  occupied  by  J,  H.  Wilson; 
the  two  residences  built  by  Ben  Harper,  now  oc- 
cupied by  Milo  Lee  and  John  Warner;  the  house 
so  long  occupied  by  Thos,  Salpaugh;  the  house 
occupied  by  J.  B.  Hawley,  who  was  postmaster  at 
Rock  Island  and  for  two  terms  of  congress  was 
the  industrious  able  representative  of  this  con- 
gressional district,  the  large  beautiful  mansion 
built  by  Lemuel  Andrews  and  at  present  and  for 
many  years  past  occupied  T^y  P.  L.  Cable  with  its 
handsome  well  kept  grounds.  Mr.  Cable  came  to 
the  city  some  forty  years  ago  with  only  moderate 
means  and  was  for  a  while  engaged  in  banking 
with  P,  L.  Mitchell,  He  afterwards  became  in- 
terested in  the  coal  mines  at  coal  valley,  buying 
out  Ben  Harper,  Homer  Hakes,  S,  S.  Guyer  and 
others  who  had  been  operating  the.mines  for  some 


222 

time  with  varying  success.  Mr.  Cable  was  fort- 
unate in  taking  hold  of  these  mines  at  this  time, 
as  the  river  steamboats  and  railroads  had  just  be- 
gun to  find  out  that  coal  was  less  expensive  than 
wood  as  fuel.  P.  L.  Cable  was  a  very  shrewd  far 
seeing  business  man,  and  soon  he  had  an  almost 
exclusive  monopoly  of  the  coal  trade  for  this 
whole  region,  This  being  the  most  northern  out- 
crop of  eoal  in  the  state,  and  the  mining  being 
almost  surface  mining,  could  be  more  easily  and 
cheaply  mined  than  places  farther  south  where 
the  first  strata  of  coal  had  to  be  raised  two  to  five 
hundred  feet.  He  had  a  very  wise  arrangement 
with  his  miners  (as  I  have  before  stated)  in  which 
he  made  them  his  partners,  giving  them  one-third 
of  the  output  and  thus  preventing  any  strikes. 
He  after  a  while  obtained  control  of  the  Peoria 
&  Rock  Island  railroad  which  passed  through  the 
mines  at  coal  valley.  He  also,  in  his  charter  of 
the  road  had  a  provision  by  which  he  could  trans- 
port his  coal,  fifty  cents  less  price  on  the  ton, 
which  gave  him  practically  the  control  of  all  the 
mines  in  that  section  owned  by  other  parties.  As 
the  business  and  the  manufactories  of  the  country 
increased  the  demand  for  the  Rock  Island  coal 
assumed  large  proportions.  One  winter  some 
fifteen  years  ago  when  there  was  a  strike  in  the 
Hampton  mines,  Mr.  Cable  told  me  he  was  ship- 
ping a  large  number  of  cars  each  day,  and  was 
making  §400  each  day  for  about  one  month.  He- 


223 

usually  fixed  his  price  in  the  fall  and  did  nut  vary 
from  it,  charging  rich  and  poor  alike,  with- 
out regard  to  the  quantity  used.  His  mines  at 
coal  valley  becoming  exnaused  he  bought  mines  in 
Mercer  county  and  built  a  good  substantial  rail- 
road to  them,  and  continued  to  operate  them  suc- 
cessfully until  his  death.  He  amassed  a  large  fort- 
une by  following  the  one  thing  exclusively.  He 
always  held  more  or  less  stock  in  the  Chicago  and 
Rock  Island  railroad  from  which  he  received  large 
dividends  for  many  years. 

Some  few  manufactories  had  been  established. 
I  have  often  thought  if  our  people  had  been  pos- 
sessed of  some  of  the  energy  and  foresight  that  our 
Moline  neighbors  have  displayed,  Rock  Island 
might  have  become  a  great  manufacturing  center 
instead  of  Moline.  A  better  water  power  with 
more  fall  than  at  Moline  might  have  been  made 
at  the  Rocky  point  at  the  Barnes  or  Gorden  place. 
If  we  only  had  a  genius  like  David  B.  Sears  it 
might  have  been  done.  Unfortunately  all  or 
nearly  all  of  our  manufacturing  enterprises  have 
proven  abortive.  Probably  more  from  want  of 
unity  and  concerted  action  than  anything  else. 
Quite  a  number  have  been  started,  but  the  bulk 
of  them  have  ended  in  failure.  The  lumber  inter- 
est is  almost  the  only  one  that  proved  successful. 
When  I  came  here  twenty-eight  years  ago,  Wey- 
erhauserand  Denckman  were  comparitively  poor 
men.  I  think  Mr.  Weyerhauser  was  running  a 


224 

small  saw  mill  at  Coal  Valley.  Soon  after,  he  and 
his  brother-in-law  started  a  small  saw  mill  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  city,  they  next  took  an  interest 
in  the  old  Barnes  mill  operated  by  Gray,  Ana- 
wait  &  Co.,  and  then  in  the  mill  next  below  in 
which  J.  H.  Wilson  and  J.  S.  Keator  had  an  in- 
terest, now  they  have  all  three  of  these  besides  one 
in  Davenport.  Fred  Weyerhauser,  who  owns  an 
immense  amount  of  pine  lands  in  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  and  any  number  of  saw  mills  along 
the  Mississippi  and  Chippewa  livers  is  recogniz- 
ed as  the  great  lumber  king  of  the  northwest. 
He  is  a  man  of  indomitable  energy,  far  seeing  in 
his  views.  There  seems  to  be  no  bounds  to  his 
ambition  and  daring.  I  think  he  has  large  tracts 
of  pine  lands  in  Canada.  Soon  we  shall  hear  of 
his  trying  to  absorb  the  pine  lands  and  lumber 
trade  of  the  Pacific  coast.  He  is  a  genial  man  of 
pleasant  and  agreeable  manners,  and  we  regret 
that  he  has  left  our  old  fogy  town  for  St,  Paul  as 
being  nearer  the  center  of  his  immense  operations. 
The  plow  manufactory  started  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  city  by  Charles  Buford  many  years 
ago  and  after  his  death  carried  on  by  his  sons 
done  a  very  large  prosperous  business  for  many 
years  until  quite  recently  when  the  concern  be- 
came somewhat  embarrassed.  A  new  company 
was  organized  and  is  now  doing  a  successful  busi- 
ness. Among  the  many  merchants  who  were 
doing  a  large  business  twenty -five  year  ago  were 


225 

Bayley  &  Boyle;  McAlister  &  Steele.  Mr.  Bayley 
was  mayor  of  the  city  and  under  his  administra- 
tion the  city  took  charge  arid  built  the  bridges 
over  Rock  River  at  Milan,  and  have  been  collect- 
ing tolls  on  the  same  for  over  thirty  years.  Ex- 
pending large  sums  from  time  to  time  in  building 
and  keeping  the  bridges  in  repair.  About  twenty 
years  ago  $22,000  was  expended  in  building 
a  macadam  road  from  Rock  Island  to  Rock 
river.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  large  out- 
lay made  at  different  times  has  been  of  a  corres- 
ponding benefit  to  the  city.  The  population  of 
the  city  in  1867  was  a  little  less  than  7,000,  by 
actual  ennurneration  although  we  had  been  claim- 
ing 10,000  to  12,000.  The  ferry  established  be- 
tween Rock  Island  and  Davenport  by  old  man 
Wilson,  and  since  run  by  his  heirs  and  successors 
was  a  good  paying  institution  and  has  always 
been  well  kept  up  under  the  judicious  manage- 
ment of  late  years  by  Capt.  T.  J.  Robinson. 

In  1867  the  Moline  and  Rock  Island  horse  rail- 
way company  was  organized,  Chas  Atkinson  of 
Moline  obtained  the  charter.  The  incorporators 
were  Chas.  Atkinson,  S.  W.  McMaster,  Ben  Har- 
per, T.  J.  Robinson  and  Henry  Dast.  The  dir- 
ectors chosen  by  the  stockholders  were  the  same 
parties  with  the  exception  of  Chas.  Atkinson,  who 
declined  to  serve,  and  J.  S.  Keator  was  chosen  in 
his  place.  The  contract  was  let  to  Mr.  Hathaway 
of  St.  Louis.  He  was  to  finish  the  road  and  stock 

15 


226 

it  complete  ready  for  running  for  $58,000.  He 
taking  $28,000  of  the  stock.  The  contract  was 
a  very  favorable  one  for  the  contractor  and  proba- 
bly for  two  of  our  directors  who  no  doubt  were  in- 
terested with  him  as  they  bought  his  stock  soon 
after  the  completion  of  the  road.  Among  the 
principal  stockholders  were  John  Deere,  J.  S, 
Keator,  Wm.  E.  Brooks,  S.  W.  McMaster,  Ross 
Mills  and  Alanson  Sennett,  T,  J,  Robinson  and 
Ben  Harper.  The  road  was  very  prosperous  for 
a  number  of  years,  paying  yearly  dividends  of 
ten  to  fifteen  per  cent.  Some  few  years  after  the 
organization  of  the  road,  John  Warren  bought  out 
Ben  Harper's  stock  in  the  road  amounting  to  $10- 
000,  and  he  was  elected  president  and  continued 
to  act  in  that  capacity  for  some  years.  The  road 
from  some  cause,  perhaps  because  so  much  of  the 
business  between  the  three  cities  was  done  by 
Telephone,  commenced  running  down.  Very 
small  dividends  were  paid  and  the  road  needed 
new  cars  and  general  repairs,  and  had  no  means 
to  do  it  unless  the  stockholders  were  assessed.  In 
this  dilemma  the  Holmes  syndicate  from  Chicago 
came  here  and  bought  out  all  the  horse  railroad 
interests  in  the  three  cities,  paying  par  for  all  the 
stock  in  the  Moline  and  Rock  Island.  The  stock 
had  so  run  down  in  value  that  there  was  no  de- 
mand for  it,  and  some  of  the  holders  offered  to 
sell  at  75  cents  on  the  dollar  without  getting  any 
bidders.  This  new  company  who  seemed  to  have 


227 

unlimited  means  put  on  new  cars  at  once  and  put 
the  road  in  thorough  repair.  In  the  second  year 
of  their  management  they  put  on  electric  cars  on 
all  their  lines  except  between  Rock  Island  and 
Davenport  across  the  government  bridge.  This 
connection  was  made  during  the  year  of  1894. 
With  their  immense  power  house  in  Rock  Island' 
they  run^the  whole  system  in  the  three  cities  as 
well  as  the  line  to  Black  Hawk's  Tower.  The 
many  improvements  this  company  have  made  has 
been  of  great  advantage  to  Rock  Island  and  has 
done  more  to  put  new  life  into  the  old  sleepy  town 
than  any  other  cause.  They  have  spent  large 
sums  in  paving  the  streets  along  their  lines.  Our 
very  progressive  city  dads  under  our  present  sys- 
tem of  making  all  street  and  sewer  improvements 
by  special  tax  or  assessment,  (as  a  rule  they  have 
little  or  no  property  to  assess)  seem  to  take  pains 
to  pass  ordinances  for  paving  streets  where  this 
company  has  lines,  trying  as  hard  as  they  can  to 
kill  the  goose  that  lays  the  golden  eggs.  And 
now  at  this  writing  when  we  are  struggling  in 
the  throes  of  a^financial  crisis,  when  hundreds  of 
poor  men  who  have  in  the  last  few  years  bought 
lots  and  erected  little  homes  for  themselves,  upon 
which  they  still  owe  money  to  the  loan  associations, 
are  called  [upon  by  the  unwise  legislation  of 
our  city  council  to  pay  for  paving,  sewer  and  side- 
walk assessments.  Hardly  a  meeting  of  the  coun- 
cil is  held  but  there  is  some  ordinance  introduced 


228 

to  add  still  more  to  the  burden  of  poor  tax  payers. 
In  this  time  of  such  dire  distress  that  prevails 
aiiung  poor  and  destitute  of  our  city,  all  industry 
is  paralyzed.  It  is  now  time  that  our  city  council 
should  cease  their  effort  to  add  still  farther  to  our 
burthens.  But  alas!  what  else  can  we  expect  from 
a  city  infested  and  corrupted  with  some  sixty  or 
seventy  saloons  and  some  ten  to  twelve  wholesale 
liquor  houses  with  their  baleful  influence,  the  voters 
of  the  city  controlling  and  putting  in  power  men  of 
their  own  stripe.  Both  parties  pander  more  or 
less  to  the  foreign  vote.  It  is  seldom  that  any 
American  finds  a  seat  in  our  city  council.  He 
must  be  a  German  or  an  Irishmen  to  be  elect- 
ed. Notwithstanding  the  large  additions  that 
have  been  made  to  the  taxable  property  of  the 
city  in  the  last  two  years  in  t'he  many  new  houses 
erected,  and  that  tax  payers  pay  for  all  street  and 
other  improvements  by  special  taxation,  our  tax 
rate  for  all  purposes  is  8  per  cent.  This  on  a 
small  house  of  $1,000  valued  at  one-third  would 
amount  to  $26.66.  A  heavy  tax  for  a  poor  man 
with  a  large  family  to  support,  to  pay. 

There  are  a  number  of  families  of  this  kind  in 
our  city  who  not  only  will  be  obliged  to  pay  this 
tax,  but  to  pay  in  addition  additional  assessments 
for  sewers,  sidewalks  and  paving.  Some  of  these 
men  who  impose  these  heavy  burthens  upon  the 
poor  will  say,  "if  they  can't  pay  let  them  get  out 
and  give  place  to  others."  This  seems  to  be  the 


229 

spirit  animating  the  average  aldermen  of  the  day. 
The  large  amount  spent  by  the  government  on 
the  Island  improvements  and  other  things  con- 
nected there  with  has  added  materially  to  the  pros- 
perity of  Rock  island  as  well  as  to  that  of  our  sis- 
ter cities  of  Davenport  and  Moline,  and  a  con- 
densed account  of  the  history  of  the  Island  from 
its  first  purchase  by  the  United  States  from  the 
Indians  should  have  a  place  in  this  narative  of 
past  events;  much  of  this  account  is  taken  from 
Col.  Flaglers  history  of  Rock  Island  Arsenal,  pub- 
lished in  1878.  The  United  States  accquired  the 
title  to  the  Island  in  1804.  A  treaty  was  made 
with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  by  Gen.  W.  Henry 
Harrison  at  St.  Louis.  From  this  time  until  1814, 
nothing  was  said  or  done,  or  much  known  about 
this  far  away  Western  point.  In  that  year  before 
the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  Lieut.  Campbell  left 
St.  Louis  with  a  boat  and  two  loaded  barges  for 
Prairie  Du  Chien  with  a  small  force  of  men  some 
110  in  all,  intending  to  go  there  and  fortify  that 
point  against  the  incursions  of  the  British  and 
Indians.  They  made  their  way  up  the  river  with- 
out much  difficulty  until  they  reached  Camp- 
bell's Island  on  the  upper  rapids,  some  eight 
miles  above  Rock  Island.  They  saw  swarms  of 
Indians  all  along  the  Illinois  shore,  but  were  not 
molested  until  one  of  the  barges  got  aground 
when  the  Indians  attacked  the  boat  in  strong 
force  killing  a  number  of  the  men.  The  rangers, 


230 

a  part  of  the  force  under  Capt.  Rogers  who  were 
on  the  other  boat  came  to  the  rescue,  opening  fire 
upon  the  Indians  with  a  six  pound  cannon. 
These  rangers  were  mostly  Frenchmen  and  with 
their  brave  captain  showed  great  daring  in  com- 
ing to  the  rescue  of  their  comrades.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  the  savages  away.  It  was  a 
very  sanguinary  contest,  there  were  thirty-six 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  battle.  It  was  in 
this  contest  that  an  old  colored  man  who  worked 
around  my  house  in  Galena,  who  we  called  Com- 
modore Perry,  took  a  part.  It  was  said  that  he 
with  a  billit  of  wood,  whenever  the  Indians  took 
hold  of  the  sides  of  the  boat,  would  strike  their 
hands  and  swearing  at  them,  telling  them  to  keep 
off  the  boat.  Poor  old  honest,  faithful  Commo- 
dore carried  a  reminisence  of  the  fierce  fight  by  a 
bullet  wound  in  his  leg,  making  him  lame  until 
his  death  some  35  years  ago.  The  shattered 
remnant  made  their  way  back  to  St.  Louis  after 
much  suffering.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  a 
much  larger  force,  some  350  men  and  officers  un- 
der the  command  of  Capt.  Zachary  Taylor  left 
St.  Louis  to  punish  the  Indians  for  their  treach- 
ery. It  was  the  intention  of  the  troops  to  go  up 
Rock  river  to  the  Indian  village  and  shell  them 
and  drive  them  out,  but  they  found  the  river  to 
low  for  them.  They  then  came  up  the  river  to  the 
Willow  Islands,  just  below  Davenport  nearly  op- 
posite the  lower  saw  mills  of  Rock  Island.  While 


231 

there  they  were  attacked  by  the  combined  forces 
of  the  British  and  Indians,  firing  upon  the  boats 
with  cannon  and  small  arms.  Capt.  Hector  open- 
ed on  them  with  his  artilery.  Our  troops  finding 
that  the  enemy  was  too  strong  for  them,  one  of 
their  shots  passing  through  Luiet.  Hernpstead's 
boat,  commenced  drifting  down  stream,  followed 
by  the  enemy  some  two  or  three  miles,  who  were 
9,000  strong,  and  were  armed  with  artilery.  Capt. 
Taylor  after  a  consultation  with  his  officers 
thought  it  best  to  retreat  down  the  river.  This 
snded  the  Indian  war  at  Rock  Island  for  the  pres-- 
ent.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Portage  de 
Sioux  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States. 
In  September  1815  Col.  Nichols  left  St.  Louis 
with  a  regiment  of  troops  to  come  to  Rock  Island 
and  establish  a  fort.  He  came  only  as  far  as 
the  mouth  of  the  DesMoinesand  went  into  camp, 
owing  to  the  early  setting  in  of  the  winter.  In 
the  spring  of  1816  Gen.  Thomas  A.  Smith  in  com- 
mand, came  up  to  establish  the  fort,  and  selected 
the  rocky  point  on  the  west  end  of  the  island  as 
a  site  fora  fort.  The  point  of  the  Island  at  this 
time  was  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber, 
oak,  ash  and  linn,  from  which  was  constructed  a 
strong  abattes  for  defense.  Gen.  Smith  continued 
on  up  the  river  with  a  portion  of  his  force  to  es- 
tablish forts  at  Prairie  Du  Chein,  (Fort  Crawford,) 
and  on  the  upper  river  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Minnesota  and  Mississippi  rivers,  (Fort  Snelling), 


232 

named  in  honor  of  the  old  army  officer  Col.  Snelling. 
The  eighth  infantry  was  left  in  command  of  Col. 
Lawrence,  to  construct  the  fort  called  Armstrong, 
in  honor  of  the  general  of  that  name.  The  fort 
was  400  feet  square,  the  lower  part  was  construct- 
ed of  stone.  The  upper  part  of  hewn  timber,  all 
the  materials  were  obtained  on  the  island.  Con- 
venient officer's  quarters  and  barracks  were  con- 
structed. A  beautiful  tall  flag  staff  was  erected 
a  few  years  after. 

From  this  time  until  after  the  close  of  the  Black 
Hawk  war  in  1832  a  regiment  or  more  of  troops 
was  kept  on  the  island,  and  various  attempts  were 
made  to  get  possession  of  the  island  by  squatters 
from  Rock  Island  and  Moline,  fortunately  with- 
out success.  No  soldiers  were  kept  on  the  island 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  A  man 
by  the  name  of  Baxter  had  charge  fora  few  yeais, 
after  this  I.  B.  Danforth  was  in  charge  for  some- 
time. In  the  winter  of  1862  and  63,  a  large  num- 
ber of  rebel  prisoners  were  sent  here,  some  13,000 
in  all.  It  taxed  the  energies  of  this  whole  section 
of  country  to  provide  them  with  winter  quarters 
and  supplies  for  this  large  accession  suddenly 
thrown  upon  us.  Immense  barracks  were  hasti- 
ly constructed  of  rough  lumber,  and'made  as  com- 
fortable as  possible  for  the  Southern  prisoners. 
That  they  must  have  suffered  a  good  deal  was 
inevitable,  coining  herein  this  cold  winter  weath- 
from  a  much  warmer  climate.  The  mortality 


233 

was  very  heavy  as  any  one  can  see  who  visits  the 
graveyard  on  the  island  where  they  were  buried. 
Some  1300  or  10  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
lie  buried  there  in  nameless  graves.  But  they 
were  treated  with  kindness,  and  had  enough  to 
eat,  probably  more  and  better  than  they  had  most 
of  the  time  in  the  rebel  service.  Some  of  our  peo- 
ple who  perhaps  sympathized  with  their  cause 
were  severely  criticised  because  they  would  occa- 
sionally send  them  some  little  comforts  in  the 
way  of  refreshments  etc.  But  this  was  all  right, 
they  could  do  no  less,  and  were  to  be  commended, 
not  for  sympathizing  with  the  rebel  cause,  but 
for  helping  brothers  in  their  need. 

There  was  fomerly  a  small  cave  in  the  extreme 
west  end  of  the  rocky  point  of  the  island.  The 
Indians  had  a  tradition  that  it  was  the  abode  of 
a  good  spirit,  who  visited  the  cave  in  the  shape 
of  a  large  white  bird.  Black  Hawk  objected  very 
strongly  to  the  erection  of  the  fort  at  this  point. 
He  said  it  would  drive  this  good  spirit  away  and 
bring  misfortune  to  his  people.  Some  twenty 
years  ago  a  young  man  came  here,  who  was  the 
son  of  Tom  Rosington,  a  genial,  hard  drinking 
Irishman.  He  married  Mary  Miller,  a  daughter, 
of  John  S.  Miller,  my  old  partner.  This  young 
man  who  had  been  engaged  on  some  western 
newspaper,  and  was  a  graceful  writer,  while  here, 
sent  a  communication  to  the  Argus  about  this 
wonderful  cave,  describing  it  as  extending  some 


234 

thousands  of  feet  under  the  island,  with  many 
side  cavesand  all  filled  with  beautiful  stalactiesof 
the  purest  white,  with  figures  and  statutes  of  the 
animal  gods  of  a  prehistoric  race,  with  hieroglific 
inscriptions,  one  of  which  he  made  out  to  deici- 
pher.  It  said,  "who  so  enters  here  and  looks  on 
me,  shall  never  leave."  It  was  written  in  glow- 
ing realistic  language,  something  like  the  cele- 
brated Moon  Hoax,  written  by  Hale  years  ago. 
Some  of  the  people  of  Rock  Island  who  had  never 
noticed  the  cave  beleived  it,  The  Reverend  Dr. 
Patterson,  of  Chicago,  wrote  to  a  friend  about  it 
in  Rock  Island  saying  he  would  come  over  and 
see  this  wonderful  cave  if  it  was  true  that  it  was 
here.  It  was  very  cleverly  written  and  many  who 
were  not  familiar  with  the  situation  might  well 
be  led  to  believe  it  a  true  story.  We  often  nowa- 
days, read  accounts  of  wonderful  caves  found  in 
many  out  of  the  way  places  in  the  west  that  pro- 
bably exist  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  news- 
paper correspondents.  It  requires  a  great  deal 
of  fiction  and  padding  in  these  days  of  Mammoth 
newspapers  of  30  to  40  pages. 

To  return  to  the  history  of  the  Island  improve- 
ment. The  first  building  erected  on  the  island  for 
military  purposes  was  the  one  that  stands  on  the 
west  end  of  the  island.  The  walls  are  a  yellow  sand 
stone  and  came  from  the  Leclair  quarries.  This 
building  was  erected  under  the  8  u  per  in  ten- 
dency of  Major  Kingsbury  in  1864.  Maj.  J,  T. 


235 

Rodman  succeeded  Major  Kingsbury  in  1865. 
The  act  authorizing  the  construction  of  the  arsenal 
was  passed  in  1862.  This  act  and  much  of  the 
later  legislation  for  improvements  on  the  island 
was  due  largely  to  the  influence  of  my  old  friend 
E.  B.  Washburne.  He  represented  this  congres- 
sional district  for  sometime  and  always  took  a 
deep  interest  in  building  up  a  great  arsenal  on  the 
island,  some  years  ago  he  wrote  me  a  long  letter 
giving  in  detail  the  various  acts  of  congress  in  re- 
lation to  this  arsenal  in  which  he  took  a  promi- 
nent part.  This  letter  was  published  intheDaven- 
port  Gazette  at  the  time,  but  I  have  mislaid  it.  In 
Col.  Flaglers  history  of  the  Rock  Island  arsenal, 
Mr.  Washburn's  name  is  not  mentioned  at  all, 
but  this  is  easily  explained.  The  colonel  give* 
the  acts  of  congress  as  they  were  passed  not  know- 
ing perhaps  who  originated  them.  The  very  wise 
judicious  plans  for  the  many  massive  stone  build- 
ings and  the  beautiful  drives  and  avenues  that  are 
found  surrounding  and  intersecting  the  island  in 
every  direction  were  planned  and  laid  out  by  the 
government  officers.  A  large  share  of  this  work 
was  no  doubt  done  under  the  direction  of 
General  Rodman  under  whose  direction,  these 
many  beautiful  drives  were  made  and  kept  in  such 
fine  order  for  many  years  and  the  most  of  the 
buildings  were  constructed.  The  massive  stone 
wing  dam  forming  the  water  power  of  Molineand 
also  the  power  to  run  the  machinery  on  the  is- 


236 

land  was  constructed  under  his  superintendency. 
The  government  has  spent  vast  sums  in  making 
the  various  improvements  on  the  island,  for  the 
bridges  connecting  the  three  cities  with  the  same, 
as  well  a?  for  improving  the  rapids  in  this  neigh- 
borhood for  making  wing  dams  to  divert  a  strong- 
er force  of  water  to  the  slough  for  keeping  open 
the  channel  above  Moline,  digging  and  deepen- 
ing the  same.  This  channel  since  the  wing  dams 
have  been  built  filled  up  very  rapidly  with  the 
silt  of  the  river.  The  sum  total  expended  by  the 
government  on  the  island  and  surroundings  un- 
der Gen.  Rodmans  administration  up  to  1876, 
amounted  to  $5,833,000.  The  amount  spent  since 
that  date  must  amount  to  at  least  another  million 
or  more.  The  appropriations  for  the  last  fifteen 
years  have  ranged  all  the  way  from  $75,000  to 
$100,000  each  year.  Quite  a  large  amount  of  this 
vast  sum  has  been  paid  out  for  labor,  which  has 
been  a  very  great  help  to  the  growth  of  the  three 
cities.  At  this  writing  in  the  winter  of  1894,400 
skilled  artisans  are  employed  in  the  various 
shops.  The  Island  makes  a  beautiful  park  with 
its  delightful  drives  passing  along  the  well  kept 
avenues  aijd  through  shady  groves.  It  is  free 
and  open  to  all  well  behaved  persons,  who  by  ap- 
plication to  the  commandant  can  get  passes.  Un- 
der Gen. 'Rodman's  administration,  the  old  sett- 
lers association  were  allowed  to  hold  their  an- 
nual fall  gatherings  on  the  island.  The  people 


237 

of  the  three  cities  assembled  on  the  30th  of  May, 
of  each  year  to  strew  flowers  on  the  soldiers 
graves  who  are  buried  there.  The  old  settlers  as- 
sociation was  organized  in  1865.  All  persons  and 
their  children  who  settled  in  the  county  before 
1846  were  admitted  as  members  upon  signing 
the  constitution  and  by-laws  and  paj'ing  a  small 
annual  fee.  At  first  for  some  years  they  met  in 
the  winter  and  had  a  supper,  another  out  door 
meeting  was  held  in  early  October,  as  a  basket  pic- 
nic. Of  late  years  the  winter  meeting  has  been 
abandoned,  and  only  the  fall  picnic  is  held.  Of  the 
old  pioneers  of  1836,  but  a  very  few  are  left. 

In  Rock  Island,  David  Hawes,  Frazier  Wilson, 
George  Mexter  and  myself  still  survive.  In  Mo- 
line,  Michael  Hartzell,  Ben  Goble  and  Daniel 
Beal.  Scattered  about  the  county  are  a  few  others, 
Mrs.  Weatherhead,  whose  name  was  Kate  McNeal 
a  sister  to  Henry  McNeal,  James  Glenn  and  per- 
haps three  or  four  others  who  live  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  county. 

In  1870  my  old  friend  B.  H.  Campbell,  United 
States  marshall  for  the  northern  district  of  Illi- 
nois appointed  me  one  of  his  deputies  to  take  the 
census  of  the  eastern  part  of  Rock  Island  county. 
This  was  the  only  public  office  that  I  ever  held 
to  which  any  pay  was  attached.  I  found  it  a  very 
arduous  undertaking  and  somewhat  uncomfort- 
able, riding  over  the  long  stretches  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  county,  during  the  intense  heat  of  that 


238 

summer.  In  going  from  house  to  house  I  met 
many  of  the  old  settlers  who  had  been  customers 
and  friends  of  mine,  during  the  time  I  lived  in 
Rock  Island  from  1836  to  1841,  Meeting  these 
old  time  friends  and  often  staying  with  them  two 
or  three  days  while  engaged  in  my  work  in  the 
neighborhood,  made  it  very  pleasant,  discussing 
the  troubles  and  trials  of  pioneer  life.  This  occu- 
pied my  time  from  the  middle  of  June  until  the  1st 
of  October.  My  cempensation  for  this  work  was 
about  $700,  I  paying  my  own  expenses  out  of  this 
amount.  This  was  the  only  money  I  ever  receiv- 
ed from  Uncle  Sam,  except  a  small  amount  paid 
me  for  taking  a  census  of  persons  liable  to  be 
drafted  in  1863  in  the  neighborhood  of  Galena. 
In  this  work  I  had  some  amusing  experiences 
and  some  that  might  have  ended  tragically 
among  the  foreign  population.  Frequently  in 
going  over  the  hills  I  would  see  some  of  the  men 
dodging  behing  the  fences,  running  and  hiding,, 
trying  to  avoid  being  listed,  as  they  seemed  to 
to  know  what  I  was  after.  This  dodging  was 
mostly  among  the  Irish  population.  In  one  or 
two  instances  in  the  town  I  was  met  by  the  wom- 
an of  the  house,  brandishing  a  big  butcher  knife. 
In  one  neighborhood  where  they  were  very  be- 
ligerent,  I  obtained  the  names  of  all  those  subject 
to  draft,  of  a  friend  of  mine,  an  Irishman,  who 
knew  them  all.  Afterwards  many  of  these  same 
men  were  induced  by  Wm.  Ryan  to  enlist  in  an 


239 

Irish  company  that  he  organized  in  Galena  and 
the  neighborhood.  They  made  good  soldiers 
and  some  of  them  when  they  came  home  said  they 
would  vote  on  the  same  side  that  they  fought. 

During  this  same  year  before  I  started  out  tak- 
ing the  census,  I  induced  Wm.  E.  Brooks  and 
Mrs.  Robins  to  consent  to  open  38th  street,  80  feet 
in  width  and  also  to  open  7th  avenue  from  the 
west  line  of  the  Robins  tract  to  the  east  line  of  the 
Brooks  farm,  to  open  this  avenue  100  feet  wide. 
Some  of  the  principal  men  of  Rock  Island  agree- 
ing that  they  would  use  their  influence  to  have 
this  avenue  opened  out  the  same  width,  down  as 
far  west  as  23d  street.  This  might  have  been 
done  at  that  time  without  any  difficulty  as  nearly 
all  the  territory  along  the  line  was  vacant  and 
owned  mostly  in  large  tracts.  This  implied 
promise  was  never  kept,  nor  any  attempt  made 
to  keep  it.  The  next  tract  east  of  the  Brooks 
farm  belonged  to  Browning  &  Alday.  They 
agreed  to  open  it  through  their  ground  at  the 
same  width.  The  next  tract  extending  east  as  far 
as  the  short  double  curve  in  the  street  car  tract 
near  the  site  of  the  foundry,  I  had  under  my  con- 
trol, as  the  agent  of  Daniel  A.  Barrows  of  Galena. 
I  had  this  all  surveyed  and  dedicated  before  the 
county  supervisors  court.  There  was  some  in- 
formality in  these  proceedings  of  which  Alday 
and  the  parties  owning  the  ground  in  the  south 
side  of  the  avenue  took  advantage  and  cut 


240 

the  avenue  down  to  70  feet.  The  Brooks 
farm  at  this  time  was  included  in  the  township 
of  Moline.  The  trustees  of  that  township  put 
$300  into  my  hands  to  open  up  this  new  connec- 
tion between  the  two  cities.  With  this  amount 
some  grading  was  done  and  some  three  tempor- 
ary bridges  were  built  and  the  road  was  made 
passable,  being  most  of  the  way  over  favorable 
ground.  Two  or  three  years  later  there  was  a  contest 
between  Rock  Island  and  Moline  for  the  posses- 
sion of  that  part  of  Moline  township  occupied 
by  the  Brooks  farm,  and  the  Sinnett  &  Barnes 
property.  Unfortunately  for  the  owners  of  this, 
property  Rock  Island-  won  the  game,  and  the 
fault  rested  largely  with  a  majority  of  the  owners 
of  these  large  tracts  who  signed  the  petition  with 
these  large  holdings,  to  be  annexed  to  Rock  Island. 
It  was  a  most  unjust  steal  and  the  people  of  Mo- 
line felt  that  they  had  been  badly  used.  This 
annexation  to  Rock  Island  was  a  great  detriment 
to  the  owners  of  this  property.  It  would  have 
all  been  built  over  ten  to  fifteen  years  ago,  had 
it  remained  where  it  justly  belonged.  For  the 
want  of  room  Moline  has  been  obliged  to  extend 
her  borders  on  the  bluff.  The  feeling  of  bitter- 
ness engendered  by  this  steal  has  been  an  injury 
to  the  growth  of  both  cities  and  possibly  long  ere 
this  would  have  been  united  under  one  corpora- 
tion. The  owners  of  this  property  are  reaping 
their  reward  for  their  short  sightedness  in  going 


241 

where  they  did  not  belong  by  having  the  first 
special  tax  imposed  on  them  for  the  construction 
of  a  sewer  down  the  line  of  38th  street,  and  after 
having  paid  taxes  for  many  long  years  for  the 
improvement  of  streets,  for  water  and  light,  with- 
out having  received  any  benefit  therefrom,  now 
under  this  new  law  of  special  taxation  and  assess- 
ment they  are  obliged  to  make  all  these  them- 
selves. 


Steamers  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  in  Olden  Times 
up  to  1874. 


A  trip  to  the  cool  north  in  the  midsummer  on 
any  of  the  many  fine  steamboats  that  were  run- 
ning on  the  upper  Mississippi  in  1874  was  always 
a  perpetual  feast  to  me.  The  varied  scenery  that 
meets  one  all  aloiig  the  line  of  thegreat  river;  the 
bold  rocky  headlands  that  jut  out  from  the  shore; 
the  deep  wooded  ravines  stretching  back  into  the 
country  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach;  the  steep  hill 
sides  clothed  with  a  dense  growth  of  foliage,  with 
here  and  there  only  small  level  plats  of  ground 
along  the  shore,  only  large  enough  for  a  house 
and  barn  and  small  garden  spot.  The  larger 
part  of  the  shores  on  both  sides  of  the  river  are  so 
filled  up  with  high  rocky  cliffs  that  the  wild  pic- 
turesque scenery  now  found  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  must  remain  the  same  for  ages,  unspoil- 

16 


242 

ed  by  the  hand  of  man,  where  tourists  from  the 
South  and  other  parts  of  the  valley,  can  go  during 
the  hot  summer  months,  if  they  wish  to  find  quiet, 
rest  and  recreation  not  be  found  in  the  rapid  rail- 
ways that  now  wind  their  sinuous  way  along  both 
sides  of  the  river  from  Rock  Island  to  St.  Paul. 
In  these  pleasant  summer  excursions  we  always 
meet  with  many  agreeable  people  and  sometimes 
acquaintances  are  formed  that  last  a  lifetime. 
Seated  out  on  the  guards  gazing  at  the  ever  vary- 
ing scenery  or  engaging  in  conversation  with 
some  chance  acquaintance,  the  time  glides  swiftly 
and  pleasantly  along,  and  at  the  end  of  the  voy- 
age we  part  with  regret  from  the  many  agreeable 
friends  we  have  met  and  with  whom  we  have 
held  communion,  during  the  swift  passing  week. 
I  know7  of  no  trip,  and  I  have  taken  many  during 
my  long  life,  by  stage,  by  rail  and  boat,  that  is 
more  delightful  and  restful  to  both  body  and 
mind  than  the  old  trips  we  used  to  take  on  the 
many  fine  boats  that  once  ploughed  the  waters  of 
this  river.  Everything  was  done  by  the  obliging 
commanders  of  the  boats  for  the  comfort  and  en- 
joyment of  their  passengers.  In  the  evening 
after  sight  seeing  of  the  day  was  over  and  the 
long  dining  tables  were  set  one  side,  the  color- 
ed waiters,  who  almost  always  had  three  or  more 
good  musicians  among  them,  would  give  us  a. 
rich  musical  treat.  If  there  were  many  young 
people  on  board,  the  evening's  entertainment 


243 

would  usually  end  in  a  dance  in  which  some  of 
us  older  ones  would  participate.  This  exercise 
would  always  close  promptly  at  10  o'clock.  Will 
this  noble  river  ever  again  bear  upon  its  bosom 
another  such  fleet  of  pleasant  excursion  beats, 
carrying  their  thousands  of  passengers,  who  were 
satisfied  to  take  life  leisurly  and  enjoy  it  as  they 
passed  along?  Should  this  happy  day  ever  come, 
our  fast  progressive  people  would  say,  I  suppose, 
that  we  were  lapsing  into  barbarism,  evolving 
backwards. 

Harvest  Hands  Take  Possession  of  a    Steamboat. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  a 
great  number  of  idle  men  in  the  border  slave 
states,  who  were  impoverished  by  the  war  and  find- 
ing nothing  to  do  at  home,  commenced  drifting 
north,  about  the  middle  of  June,  to  find  work 
in  the  haying  and  harvest  fields  of  the  north, 
commencing  first  in  Southern  Illinois  and  Wis- 
consin. Working  their  way  up  the  river  to  Iowa 
and  Minnesota.  Large  and  increasing  numbers 
continued  to  come  from  year  to  year,  until  most 
of  the  boats  going  north  when  the  harvest  fields 
of  Iowa  and  Minnesota  were  ready  were  often 
packed  full.  Of  course  in  such  crowds  there  would 
be  found  many  rough  lawless  characters.  In 
about  1875  a  boat  commanded  on  her  way  up  by 
Capt.  John -Rhodes  passed  by  here,  up  the  river, 


244 

without  stopping  here  or  at  Davenport.  It  was 
noticed  that  the  boat  was  crowded  with  this  class 
of  passengers  and  there  seemed  to  be  some  disturb- 
ance on  board.  The  conclusion  was  drawn  that 
these  men  had  possession  of  the  boat.  In  some- 
way the  news  was  sent  down  here  while  the  boat 
was  on  its  way  over  the  rapids  that  help  was 
needed  when  the  boat  should  reach  Clinton.  We 
had  a  military  organization  here,  and  under  the 
command  of  Major  James  Beardsley,  some  forty 
or  fifty  armed  men  were  shipped  on  a  flat  car  on 
their  way  to  Clinton  to  the  rescue  of  the  beleagur- 
ed  boat.  They  arrived  there  in  time  and  took 
possession  of  the  boat.  It  seems  these  men  first  took 
possession  of  the  bar  and  treated  all  who  joined 
them  in  the  lawless  work.  Their  next  outrage 
was  to  commence  abusing  and  beating  the  color- 
ed waiters  and  deck  hands,  throwing  a  number 
of  them  overboard,  and  three  or  four  were  drown- 
ed. They  entered  the  pilot  house  and  with  pistols 
leveled  at  the  pilots  prevented  them  from  landing. 
When  they  first  commenced  taking  possession  of 
the  bar,  it  is  probable,  the  captain  by  taking  a  res- 
olute stand  might  have  checked  them  and  pre- 
vented the  mutiny.  They  were  brought  back  to 
the  wharf  at  Rock  Island  and  were  marched 
down  the  gang  plank,  guarded  on  each  side  by 
our  soldier  boys.  A  bright  mulatto,  who  had 
managed  to  escape  their  clutches  by  keeping  out 
of  the  way  stood  at  the  end  of  the  gang  plank  and 


245 

identified  those  that  he  knew  were  in  the  riot. 
He  would  say,  "dat  man  in  de  tuss."  And  dat 
man  was  arrested  with  some  twenty  others  and 
marched  off  to  jail.  The  others  were  allowed  to 
proceed  on  their  voyage  up  the  river.  When 
their  trial  came  off  they  employed  M.  Y.Johnson, 
of  Galena,  to  defend  them.  It  was  found  very 
difficult  to  bring  proof  enough  against  any  one 
to  insure  a  conviction,  and  they  were  all  releas- 
ed. No  attempt  of  the  kind  has  been  made  since 
by  these  harvesters. 

The  Bockford,  Bock  Island  and  St.  Paul  Railroad, 
its  Origin  and  Progress. 

About  1871  L.  Abbott,  of  Cordova,  and  some 
of  his  neighbors  were  sitting  around  the  stove 
one  winter  evening  discussing  the  hard  times  and 
the  little  they  could  find  to  do  in  the  quaint  dull 
old  town.  Abbott  says  let  us  build  a  railroad,  I 
have  twenty-five  cents  in  my  pocket  as  a  cash 
capital  on  which  to  commence  operations.  This 
quiet  talk  between  these  few  men  led  to  the  build- 
ing a  railroad  from  Barstow  kf  St.  Louis  by  the 
\vayofRock  Island.  A  company  was  organized 
and  a  charter  obtained.  Some  parties  who  had 
some  capital,  enough  to  set  the  project  in  motion, 
took  hold  with  Abbott.  They  leased  a  large  tract 
of  coal  lands  on  the  line  of  the  road  in  Rock 
Island  and  Henry  counties.  Had  maps  and 


246 

drawings  made  of  the  route  showing  grades  and 
the  towns  lying  along  the  route,  all  gotten  up  in 
a  very  atttactive  form,  accompanied  with  a  glow- 
ing description  of  the  beautiful  productive  coun- 
try through  which  the  projected  road  was  to  pass. 
A  shrewd  agent  was  employed  to  go  to  Europe 
and  despose  of  the  bonds  issued  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road.  He  succeeded  in  making  an 
agreement  with  some  capitalists  of  Holland  to 
take  the  bonds  of  the  road  to  the  amount  of  $20- 
000  for  each  mile  built  and  equipped.  Subscrip- 
tions to  the  stock  were  solicited  from  towns  along 
the  line  of  the  road,  and  quite  a  large  amount  of 
available  means  were  obtained  by  selling  the 
bonds  issued  by  these  towns  and  counties, 
enough  to  start  the  .road  on  its  legs.  Work  was 
commenced  on  the  eastern  end.  The  coal  banks 
were  opened,  which  was  easily  done,  as  the  out- 
crop was  near  the  surface'  and  only  required  a 
little  stripping.  The  right  of  way  was  purchased 
at  normal  prices  and  generally  without  the  costs 
of  arbitration  until  the  canvassers  reached  Mo- 
line  and  Rock  Island.  Here  wherever  the  right 
of  way  passed  through  private  property  the  ap- 
praisers gave  the  owners  a  fair  price  for  the  same. 
They  obtained  the  right  of  way  on  some  of  the 
streets  in  Moline  and  Rock  Island  and  from  Rock 
Island  u^ed  the  track  of  the  Peoria,  under  a  run- 
ning arrangement,  to  Coal  Valley.  The  dutch 
capitalists  advancing  money  on  the  bonds  as  the 


247 

work  progressed  until  the  road  reached  East  St. 
Louis.  It  was  a  splendid  successful  scheme,  if 
any  enterprise  founded  on  gas  and  fraud  can  be 
•called  successful.  Some  of  the  subcontractors 
and  the  many  men  employed  to  puff  and  work 
up  the  credit  of  the  road  may  have  made  some- 
thing. It  was  run  a  short  time  by  the  original 
projectors,  and  then  the  deceived  bondholders 
sent  over  an  agent  to  see  after  the  delayed  inter- 
est due  on  the  bonds.  This  agent  of  the  bond- 
holders took  charge  ®f  the  road.  He  invited  some 
one  or  two  hundred  of  the  business  men  of  the 
three  cities  to  take  a  trip  to  St.  Louis.  The  St, 
Louis  people  treated  us  right  royally,  furnishing 
us  carriages  to  visit  the  principal  places  of  inter- 
est in  the  city.  Within  a  year  or  so  after  the  road 
was  leased  to  R.  R.  Cable  and  others  under  the 
direction  and  control  of  Ransom  R.  Cable.  This 
I  believe  was  about  the  first  railroading  Mr.  Cable 
had  done.  From  this  time  on  he  became  one  of 
the  foremost  and  most  successful  railroad  men  in 
the  west,  as  president  of  the  C.  I.  &  P.,  railroad. 
The  poor  deceived  bondholders  were  compelled 
finally  to  sell  the  road  which  cost  them  ten  million 
of  dollars,  for  one  and  a  half  millions.  The  Bur- 
lington &  Quincy  being  the  purchaser,  and  giv- 
ing that  road  since  the  completion  of  the  North- 
ern to  St.  Paula  continuous  line  from  St.  Louis 
to  St.  Paul. 


•248 
Librarys  ani  Pablic  Sohools  ia  Rook  Island. 

The  first  library  established  in  Rock  Island 
was  called  the  Rock  Island  City  Library  and 
Reading  Room.  It  was  kept  up  by  volunary 
subscription,  and  it  was  organized  in  1855.  The 
association  occupied  rooms  in  Mitchell  &  Lynd's 
block  at  first,  and  later  in  Ben  Harper's  block, the 
present  site  of  Harper's  opera  house.  In  1872  the 
present  public  library  was  organized  under  the 
state  law,  authorizing  cities  and  towns  to  open 
public  libraries,  and  to  lev}-  a  tax  for  their  sup- 
port. The  books  and  other  property  belonging 
to  the  old  library  were  turned  over  to  the  new  in- 
stitution. There  were  2,000  volurnns  in  all,  turned 
over.  Chicago  was  the  first  city  to  establish  a 
free  library  and  Moline  and  Rock  Island  were 
the  next  in  the  state.  Rooms  were  secured  in  the 
postoffice  block.  The  library  has  continued  to 
occupy  the  same  locality  up  to  the  present  time, 
1894.  This  whole  block  was  rebuilt  some  two 
years  ago  and  the  library  rooms  were  much  en- 
larged and  fitted  up  with  new  cases  and  fixtures 
in  elegant  style.  There  has  been  added  from 
time  to  time  usually  as  often  as  three  or  four  times 
each  year,  the  best  new  current  literature  of  the 
day.  The  city  council  has  generally  appropriated 
from  $2,500  to  $3,500  each  year.  Of  late  years 
the  public' schools  have  been  allowed  to  draw 
books  on  the  order  of  the  teachers  for  books  con- 


249 

nected  with  the  studies  for  all  grades  from  the 
4th  to  the  12th.  The  teachers  are  much  in  favor 
of  this  late  innovation  and  think  it  is  a  great  help 
to  the  pupils  in  their  si.udies.  All  the  leading 
newspapers  of  the  west  are  found  on  file  in  the 
library.  Some  fifteen  to  twenty  of  the  best  month- 
ly magazines  are  taken,  of  these,  two  copies  of  the 
most  popular  are  taken,  one  copy  of  which  is  for 
distribution  to  patrons  under  the  supervision  of 
the  librarian.  Miss  Ellen  Gale,  the  scholarly  ac- 
complished librarian  had  charge  of  the  old  li- 
brary for  three  or  four  years  before  it  was  merged 
into  the  new  one.  She  has  been  the  chief  librar- 
ian in  charge  for  all  these  years  up  to  this  date, 
1894.  She  is  thoroughly  posted  in  all  her  duties 
and  is  a  competent  judge  of  books,  with  the  large 
knowledge  she  has  of  the  best  books,  the  selection 
is  and  has  been  mostly  left  to  her.  The  library 
board  consists  of  nine  directors.  The  directors  in 
1877,  were  S.  W.  McMaster,  president,  E.  D. 
Sweeney,  secretary,  Alexander  Steel,  C.  W.  O'Neil, 
Henry  Curtis,, W.  H.  Gest,  Calvin  Truesdale,  C. 
Spedell  and  H.  C.  Connelly.  H.  C.  Connelly,  D. 
C.  Truesdale,  Henry  Curtis.  E.  D.  Sweeney,  W.  H. 
Gest  and  S.  W.  McMaster  have  served  on  the 
board  many  years  both  before  and  after  the  above, 
date. 

The  first  systematic  effort  made  to  establish  a 
comprehensive  system  of  graded  schools  in  Rock 
Island  was  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  George  Mix- 


250 

ter  as  I  have  stated  elsewhere.  He  drafted  a  char- 
ter somewhat  similar  in  its  provisions  to  that  of 
the  school  system  prevailing  in  Massachusetts, 
with  many  favorable  provisions,  giving  the  trus- 
tees full  power  to  levy  taxes,  employ  teachers  and 
build  school  houses.  The  limit  of  taxation  un- 
der the  state  law  is  two  per  cent  of  the  assessed 
valuation.  The  provisions  of  the  charter  are  unus- 
ually favorable.  The  city  council  fortunately 
has  no  control  whatever  over  the  board  of  trus- 
tees. Thus  far  the  election  of  trustees  has  been 
kept  clear  from  political  influence.  The  trustees 
have  generally  been  selected  for  their  fitness  with- 
out regard  to  their  political  affiliations,  with  the 
exception  of  the  election  in  1893,  when  unfortu- 
nately the  bigoted  sectarianism  of  a  few  of  our  peo- 
ple raised  the  religous  question  as  between  Cath- 
olics and  Protestants.  A  most  unwise  and  fool- 
ish thing  to  do,  for  the  reason  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  Catholic  children  attend  our  public  schools, 
and  it  is  very  important  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  public  schools  as  well  as  for  the  interests  of 
our  common  country  that  this  feeling  of  intoler- 
ance be  kept  down.  The  best  means  we  have  of 
amalgamating  the  foreign  element  and  making 
good  America  citizens  of  them  is  found  in  our 
system  of  public  schools.  So  I  say,  by  all  means 
let  us  do  nothing  to  drive  this  class  of  our  citi- 
zens away  from  the  public  schools.  If  a  Catholic 
girl  who  has  received  her  education  in  our  pub- 


251 

lie  schools  is  well  qualified  to  teach  school,  give 
her  an  equal  chance  with  others.  The  board  of 
education  in  1874  was  composed  of  the  following 
gentlemen,  S.  W.  McMaster,  president,  J.  F.  Ever- 
itt,  clerk,  Mile  Lee,  Calvin  Truesdale,  Jas.  M. 
Buford  and  M.  D.  Merrill.  Mr.  J.  F.  Everitt  was 
superintendent  of  the  the  schools.  Mr.  Everitt 
came  from  Oscaloosa,  Towa,  and  was  employed  by 
the  board  a  year  or  two  before  this  date.  He 
continued  to  act  in  that  capacity,  ten  or  twelve 
years  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Kemble,  who 
has  been  superintendent  until  the  present  time. 
Edward  Burrall,  H.  C.  Connelly,  Dr.  Truesdale, 
S.  W.  McMaster  and  J.  M.  Buford,  served  on  the 
board  for  a  number  of  years.  Of  late  years 
younger  men  have  taken  their  places.  At  this 
d  ate  some  thirty  teachers  were  employed  and  some 
nineteen  hundred  pupils  were  enrolled  with 
school  houses,  mostly  of  an  inferior  order  except 
the  high  school  and  the  first  ward  building.  The 
money  raised  for  school  purposes  amounted  to  from 
123,000  to  $27,000  yearly  from  1872  to  1878.  As 
no  new  school  houses  were  built  during  this  time. 
At  this  date  1894,  we  have  ten  buildings  used  for 
school  purposes,  five  of  them  new,  all  built  with- 
in the  last  five  or  six  years.  The  number  of  pu- 
pils now  enrolled  is  2,655.  The  number  of  teach- 
ers employed  in  all  departments  is  fifty-eight. 
The  monthly  pay  roll  amounts  to  $4,100.  The 
yearly  expenditure  for  all  purposes  is  about 


252 

$55,000.  A  very  large  advance  over  the  amount 
required,  some  fifteen  years  ago,  the  amount  at 
that  time  and  for  some  years  amounted  to  from 
$25,000  to  $30,000.  The  large  outlay  is  caused  in 
part  by  the  cost  of  the  many  new  school  houses 
recently  erected  as  given  below.  The  new  cen- 
tral school  building  which  is  located  on  the  old 
high  school  square  is  now  nearly  completed 
will  cost  about  $60,000. 

The  new  No.  2  building  costs  about  13,154. 

"  5  "  17,678. 

"  "  6  "  "  rebuilt  19,533. 

«      7       .1          «      «         «          30,356. 

"      High  school,      "  27,000. 

$167,721. 

A  very  large  part  of  the  above  amount  has  been 
incurred  within  the  last  three  years.  School 
bonds  have  been  issued  bearing  5  per  cent  inter- 
est running  three  years,  the  limit  under  the  state 
law.  If  funds  are  not  ready  to  meet  the  bonds 
when  due  they  can  be  renewed. 


The  Theological  Department  to  Educate    Young 
Men  for  the  Ministry. 

The  Augustina  college  erected  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  city  was  chartered  in  1865.  It 
is  under  the  supervision  and  management  of  the 
Swedish  Lutherian  Augustina  Synod  of  the 


253 

United  States.  The  object  of  the  institution  is  to 
give  the  Swedish  population  of  the  west  a  good 
collegiate  education.  The  large  number  of  Swedes 
located  in  this  section  of  the  country,  and  the 
beauty  and  healthfulness  of  the  location  was  a 
sufficient  inducement  for  the  synod  to  remove  the 
institution  from  Paxton  near  Chicago.  The  the- 
ological department  was  for  the  purpose  of  edu- 
cating their  young  men  in  theology  for  the  pastors 
of  the  many  Swedish  settlements,  found  all  over 
the  west.  In  1871  there  were  employed  in  the 
college,  seven  professors,  and  about  100  scholars 
were  in  attendance.  The  building,  a  fine  edifice, 
erected  on  a  high  eminence  overlooking  the  three 
cities  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $35,000,  The  trustees 
before  erecting  the  building,  purchased  twenty 
acres  of  ground,  embracing  the  rough  wooded 
hills  in  the  rear  of  the  college.  The  institution 
has  been  steadily  increasing  in  popular  favor  and 
influence,  adding  from  year  to  year  to  the  number 
of  students,  and  also  the  number  of  able  professors 
in  the  different  departments.  They  now  have 
some  450  students  and  some  10  to  12  professors 
under  the  direction  of  President  Ohlson.  Some 
five  or  six  years  ago  they  -found  that  they  must 
have  enlarged  accommodations,  for  the  large  num- 
ber of  students  that  were  applying  for  admission. 
The  present  magnificent  building,  erected  a  little 
west  of  the  old  one  was  commenced  and  partially 
completed  when  the  trustees  had  exhausted  all 


254 

the  means  they  could  raise,  and  they  felt  that 
they  could  go  no  farther,  they  were  completely 
discouraged,  when  help  came  to  them  from  an 
outside  source.  One  day  while  P.  L.  Cable  was 
standing  in  Mitchell  &  Lynd's  bank,  President 
Hazelquist  and  another  member  of  the  college 
came  into  the  bank.  Mr.  Cable  quietly  handed 
the  good  old  president  a  check  for  $25,000,  saying, 
I  heard  that  you  needed  funds  to  complete  your 
building,  and  I  give  you  this  check  to  help  you 
out.  The  member  who  was  with  Mr.  Hazelquist 
was  so  overcome  with  this  unexpected  timely 
gift  that  he  burst  into  tears.  This  munificent  gift 
of  my  good  neighbor  Cable  enabled  the  trustees 
to  complete  the  beautiful  building,  which  is  an  or- 
nament to  our  city,  as  well  as  a  great  advantage 
to  the  educational  interests,  not  only  of  our  city, 
but  of  this  whole  section  of  the  country.  In  the 
upper  story  of  the  building  is  a  large  library  of 
many  old  rare'books.  Some  of  them  in  English, 
Latin  and  Swede.  On  the  same  floor  is  a  museum 
with  a  rare  collection  of  objects  of  interest  as  well 
as  a  large  collection  of  fossils,  mostly  collected  in 
this  section  of  the  country  by  Professors  Lindhall 
and  Udden.  In  the  year  1893,  the  trustees  pur- 
chased the  ten  acres  of  ground  with  thedwellings 
on  the  same  lying  in  front  of  the  college,  of  Henry 
Hull.  The  price  paid  was  $20,000.  It  is  design- 
ed for  a  campus  or  play  ground  for  the  students. 
The  founding  of  this  institution  has  been  a  great 


255 

advantage  to  Rock  Island  and  in  many  ways,  has 
been  the  means  of  building  up  that  part  of  the 
city.  The  students  are  a  quiet,  orderly  set  of 
young  men;  we  do  not-hear  of  their  doing  any- 
thing out  of  the  way,  playing  the  pranks  that 
many  students  do  in  other  institutions  of  the  kind. 
The  location  of  our  water  works  in  1870  in  the 
western  part  of  the  city  was  an  unfortunate  one 
in  many  respects,  both  financially  and  physically. 
In  the  first  place  the  trenches  were  dug  too  shallow, 
only  3  to  4  feet  deep.  The  first  winter  after  the 
pipes  were  laid,  the  ground  froze  very  hard  burst- 
ing the  pipes  in  many  places.  The  whole  had  to 
bedugupand  new  pipes  laid,  involving  more 
than  double  the  expense  of  the  first  outlay.  I 
do  not  know  who  was  to  blame  for  making  this 
most  disasterous  location  which  proved  so  detri- 
mental to  the  health  of  the  city,  being  placed 
where  the  sewerage  of  three  cities,  at  any  rate,  a 
large  share  of  it,  must  inevitably  be  drawn  into 
the  suction  of  the  inlet  pipe.  In  the  winter  if  the 
river  was  closed  over  with  ice  the  sewerage  from 
Moline  and  our  city  floated  along  the  shore  and 
went  into  the  suction  pipe,  contaminating  and 
poisoning  the  water  that  we  used.  One  winter  a 
large  number  of  or  citizens  had  what  was  called 
winter  cholera.  Many  of  them  were  made  very 
sick,  and  a  few  death's  occurred  from  the  disease. 
This  all  came  from  the  impure  water.  The  works 
were  soon  moved  to  the  present  location,  but  it  was 


256 

soon  found  that  the  sewerage  from  Moline  passed 
most  of  it  down  the  slough,  and  that  the  only  way 
to  avoid  this  new  evil  was  to  run  an  inlet  to  the 
point  of  the  island  and  get  the  water  direct  from 
the  foot  of  the  rapids.  The  city  being  already  in 
debt  up  to  the  legal  limit, it  could  not  further  in- 
crease our  indebtedness.  In  this  dilemma  P.  L. 
Cable  came  to  the  rescue  and  generously  donated 
$25,000  towards  giving  us  at  last  as  pure  water  as 
we  could  expect  to  get  from  the  Mississippi.  We 
have  not  been  troubled  with  winter  cholera  since. 

Whenever  the  river  is  very  high,  it  becomes 
quite  muddy  and  of  course  what  water  we  all  use 
(as  it  has  no  chance  to  settle)  is  not  very  clean. 
In  order  to  remedy  this  defect  Ben  Cable  some 
three  years  ago  very  generously  donated  $15,000 
for  the  erection  of  a  filter  that  it  was  supposed 
would  give  us  good  clear  water.  It  made  the  water 
somewhat  purer,  but  whether  the  filter  was  im- 
properly constructed  or  that  it  was  too  small,  it 
has  not  produced  the  desired  effect.  This  does 
not  in  the  least  detract  from  the  credit  due  to  our 
good  friend  and  neighbor  Ben. 

Among  the  leading  lawyers  in  Rock  Island  in 
1866  were  John  B.  Hawley,  who  at  this  time  was 
the  postmaster  here.  He  was  afterwards  elected 
as  a  member  of  congress  from  this  district  and 
served  two  terms  receiving  the  nomination  the 
second  term.  P.  L.  Cable  who  was  absent  in  Eu- 
rope at  the  time  received  the  nomination  of  the 


257 

Democrats.  In  his  absence  Ramsum  R.  Cable 
conducted  the  campaign  for  his  uncle  in  which 
he  developed  rare  qualities  as  a  very  successful 
political  magnate.  So  close  was  the  vote  that 
neighbor  Hawley  came  out  ahead  only  46  votes. 
Mr.  Hawley  was  selected  by  Secretary  Foster  of 
the  treasury  department  as  his  assistant  and 
for  some  months  during  the  absence  and  illness 
of  Secretary  Foster,  was  acting  secretary  of  the 
treasury.  Owing  to  a  quarrel  among  the  repub- 
licans of  Rock  Island  Mr.  Hawley  failed  to  receive 
the  nomination  for  the  third  term,  He  was  a 
faithful  and  efficient  representative  for  Rock  Is- 
land and  Moline,  as  well  as  for  the  whole  congres- 
sional district. 

W.  H.  Gest  another  prominent  lawyer  received 
the  Republican  nomination  for  congress  during 
President  Harrison's  administration.  He  proved 
himself  a  good  working  efficient  member.  He 
succeeded  in  obtaining  appropriations  for  the 
erection  of  a  viaduct  over  the  railroads  leading 
to  the  bridge,  to  the  island.  The  appropriation 
was  $75,000.  Also  one  for  the  erection  of  a  govern- 
ment building  in  Rock  Island,  for  a  postoffice  and 
for  the  engineer  department  under  Major  McKen- 
zie.  The  amount  appropriated  was  $75,000.  This 
building  seems  to  be  in  abeyance  at  present.  Our 
very  progressive  Democratic  regime  seems  to  be 
out  of  funds.  The  whole  country  seems  to  be 
struck  with  paralysis  since  the  second  advent  of 


258 

Cleveland,  backed  upas  he  is  with  a  large  major- 
ity in  both  branches  of  congress.  Manu- 
factures of  all  kinds  are  pa  rally  zed,  gaunt  hun- 
gry men  roaming  around,  seeking  in  vain  for 
something  to  do,  to  keep  them  and  their  families 
from  starving.  These  dire  results  seem  to  be  due 
to  the  policy  that  is  being  inaugurated  by  the 
Democrats  since  they  have  come  into  power.  Back 
of  all  this,  however,  there  has  been  much  in  the 
history  of  the  last  few  years  under  Republican 
rule  to  gradually  prepare  for  this  disasterous- 
state  of  things.  But  the  Democratic  party  will 
have  to  bear  the  blame,  and  they  will  reap  the 
fruits  for  their  share  in  the  distresses  of  the  coun- 
try and  for  their  constant  pandering  to  the  free 
trade  south,  in  a  signal  defeat  in  18^6. 

W.  H.  Guest  received  the  Republican  nomina- 
tion in  1892,  but  was  badly  snowed  under  by  his 
Democratic  opponent,  Ben  Cable,  running  be- 
hind some  2,000  votes.  It  was  said  that  Ben's 
barrel  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  result. 
This  is  probably  very  doubtful  as  this  tremend- 
ous political  result  occurred  in  many  other  dis- 
tricts all  over  the  country.  Judge  Wilkinson,  the 
veteran  lawyer  of  Rock  Island,  who  has  been  prac- 
ticing here  and  in  other  circuits  for  the  last  forty 
years  is  still  here,  leading  a  quiet,  but  lonely 
bachelor  life.  Sweney  &  Jackson,  who  were  here 
in  1865,  an  old  established  firm  of  lawyers  are 
still  here  but  are  no  longer  partners.  Judge  George 


259 

Pleasants  who  for  many  years  has  been  on  the 
bench,and  is  now  associate  judge  with  a  more  exten- 
sive jurisdiction, is  still  here.  Henry  0.  Connelly, 
whose  main  business  is  collecting  and  office  work, 
a  quiet  unobtrusive  man,  my  friend  and  col- 
league for  many  years  on  the  library  and  school 
boards,  I  found  here  in  1885.  E.  E.  Parmenter, 
another  quiet  unassuming  lawyer,  who  was  elect- 
ed states  attorney  for  some  two  terms  is  very  pop- 
ular with  his  country  clients  because  they  think 
him  honest. 

Moline  and  its  Water  Power's  Successful  Growth. 

In  1841  John  W.  Spencer,  Spencer  White  and 
D.  B.  Sears,  done  the  first  work  towards  develop- 
ing the  water  power  and  giving  impetus  to  the 
growth  of  Moline.  Under  the  direction  of  D.  B. 
Sears  they  built  a  brush  dam  across  the  slough  to 
the  island.  They  built  a  flour  and  saw  mill  on 
the  Moline  side.  In  1846  Chas.  Atkinson  built  a 
saw  mill  and  in  connection  with  it  a  planing 
mill  the  first  one  of  the  kind  north  of  St.  Luuis, 
These  first  small  beginnings  were  the  nuclus 
around  which  all  the  great  manufacturing  inter- 
ests were  developed  in  after  years.  These  inter- 
ests received  a  great  impetus  by  the  building  of 
the  immense  dam  constructed  by  the  Upited 
States  for  the  purpose  of  running  the  requisite 
machinery  of  the  contemplated  shops  on  the  is- 
land. 


260 

The  Moline  water  power  company  was  organiz- 
ed in  1855.  Its  officers  were  Chas.  Atkinson,  pres- 
ident, John  Deere,  vice  president,  J.  M.  Gould,  sec- 
retary. Members  of  the  company  were  John 
Deere,  D,  C.  Dimock,  John  Gould,  R.  K.  Swann, 
J.  S.  Keator  and  S.  W.  Wheelock.  All  enter- 
prising, thorough  business  men,  all  of  whom  dur- 
ing their  long  residence  in  Moline  have  taken  a 
leading  part  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  of  their 
adoption.  To  these  men  and  some  others  like 
them,  Moline  for  many  years  owed  here  xemption 
from  the  effects  of  the  baleful  liquor  traffic.  For 
many  years  there  were  no  saloons  allowed  in  the 
young  city.  In  later  years  a  few  saloons  have  been 
licensed,  but  they  are  held  to  a  strict  account  and 
are  not  allowed  to  do  as  they  please,  as  they  are  in 
other  towns  in  the  neighborhood,  debanching 
the  young  and  keeping  open  doors  seven  days  in 
the  week. 

Of  the  many  manufacturing  establishments  we 
will  enumerate  only  a  few  of  the  largest.  The 
Deere  plow  company's  works  are  the  largest  of  any 
in  the  United  States.  These  plows  and  cultivators 
are  shipped  to  almost  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world.  The  Moline  plow  company  is  also  a  very 
extensive  concern.  Some  of  the  workmen  en- 
gagefl  in  the  Deere  company  with  a  number  of 
Moline  capitalists  started  the  new  concern  in  about 
1864.  S.  W.  Wheelock  was  a  large  stockholder 
in  the  new  concern  and  was  president  for  some 


261. 

years.  He  also  owned  most  of  the  stock  in  the 
extensive  Moline  paper  mill.  He  built  the  first 
post  office  building,  in  the  upper  part  of  which  he 
finished  off  a  large  hall  and  two  other  large  con- 
venient rooms  for  a  library  and  reading  room. 
These  he  donated  to  the  city  of  Moline  in  perpet- 
uity for  a  free  library  and  reading  room.  He  was 
a  very  liberal  public  spirited  man  and  was  elected 
mayor  for  a  number  of  terms.  He  and  uncle  John 
Deere  were  at  the  head  of  the  rival  plow  compan- 
ies and  both  have  gone  to  that  better  land  where 
rivalry  and  jealousy  cease. 

The  Moline  wagon  company  from  a  small  con- 
cern in  1870,  started  by  James  Furst,  Morris 
Rosenfield  and  others,  has  become  one  of  the  most 
extensive  concerns  in  the  northwest  under  the 
wise,  judicious  management  of  Mr.  Rosenfield, 
who  now  is  the  principal  owner,  controlling  most 
of  the  stock. 

Barnard  Lease  &  company  keep  all  sorts  of 
mill  machinery  for  which  they  find  an  extensive 
market  all  over  the  United  States  and  ship  large- 
ly of  these  improved  mill  machinery  to  South 
America,  England  and  Germany. 

Dimock,  Gould  &  company,  heavy  dealers  in 
lumber,  planing  mill  products,  wood,  paper,  tubs 
and  buckets,  are  an  old  reliable  firm  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  city.  Williams,  White  &  company  deal- 
ers in  foundry  machinery,  engines  etc.,  are  the 
leading  manufactures  in  their  line  in  the  three 


262 

cities.  The  concern  is  now  under  the  control  of 
Mr.  Ainsworth,  who  controls  most  of  the  stock. 

J.  S.  Keator,  who  at  one  time  was  largely  inter- 
ested in  the  lumber  trade  in  all  three  of  the  cities, 
who  built  the  Keator  house,  the  principal  hotel  in 
Moline,  is  no  longer  in  active  business.  He  has 
always  been  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising citizens  of  Moline. 

There  are  well  established  malable  iron  works, 
two  organ  factories,  pump  and  scale  works  and 
wind  mill  works,  all  have  been  doing  a  fair  pros- 
perous trade  for  the  last  few  years. 

Among  the  more  recent  manufactories  are  the 
Wilson  buggy  works  owned  and  controlled  by  J. 
H.  Wilson,  the  extensive  Sickler  buggy  works,  the 
wheel  works,  the  furniture  and  electric  power 
works,  which  supplies  the  three  cities  with  elec- 
tric light,  under  the  management  of  the  Davis 
brothers.  All  of  these  last  mentioned  concerns  are 
found  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  The  young 
city  has  a  number  of  first  class  stores,  some  five 
or  six  well  constructed  modern  school  buildings. 
A  good  free  public  library  with  some  6,000  to  7,000 
volumns  of  well  selected  books.  The  population 
is  about  15,000. 


263 

A  Short  Notice  of  Some  of  the  Early  Settlers  in  the 

Southern  Part  of  Rock  Island  County. 

Their  Trials  and  Difficulties. 


There  was  quite  a  large  emigration  to  Edging- 
ton  township,  most  of  these  early  pioneers  came 
here  from  1834  to  1840.  Daniel  Edgington, 
James  Robinson,  Joseph  D.  Dunlap  and  John 
Edgington  came  herein  1834,  later  on  cameChas. 
Eberhart,  the  Titteringtons,  John  and  Charles 
Moses.  In  1836  the  Montgomeries,  Daniel  and 
the  Rev.  John,  located  on  the  prairie.  In  1838 
the  Parmesters,  Lorenzo,  George  and  Allen,  H.  H. 
Parks  and  a  number  of  others  were  added,  to 
the  young  settlement.  Most  of  these  emigrants 
came  from  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  attracted  by  the 
beauty  and  fertility  of  the  rich,  fertile  prairie  soil. 
The  gently  rolling  landscape  and  the  wooded  hills 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  attracted 
SL  large  number  of  emigrants.  Coperas  and  Mill 
creeks  pass  through  the  township,  and  numerous 
springs  of  pure  water  are  found  in  abundance. 
Oame  was  plenty,  deer,  wild  turkeys  and  prairie 
chickens  were  abundant.  One  great  drawback 
to  these  early  settlers  was  the  want  of  mills  to 
grind  their  bread  stuffs.  The  nearest  mill  was 
forty-five  miles  away,  at  Hendersonville,  Knox 
county,  having  to  cross  creeks  and  sloughs  with- 
out any  bridges  and  rough  roads.  They  resorted 
to  many  expedients  to  assist  them  in  reducing 


264 

their  corn  and  wheat  in  a  shape  to  make  bread, 
pulverizing  the  grain  in  iron  kettles  or  pound- 
ing it  out  on  rocks.  Corn  in  all  the  various  ways 
in  which  it  can  be  prepared  for  food,  was  utilized 
to  eke  out  the  supplies  of  bread.  Joseph  Dunlap, 
who  was  quite  a  mechanical  genius,  finally  con- 
structed a  rude  mill,  using  granite  boulders  that 
were  scattered  over  the  prarie  for  burr  stones.  To 
the  lower  stone  was  attached  an  iron"  shaft  and 
pulley,  which  was  driven  by  a  horse-power  con- 
sisting of  a  heavy  upright  shaft  of  timber,  held  in 
position  by  a  large  beam  resting  on  the  crotches 
of  two  oak  trees.  Arms  projected  from  this  shaft 
like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  and  within  their  circle 
a  hftrse  was  hitched  to  one  of  the  spokes  hitched 
to  a  raw  hide  band.  Its  capacity  for  grinding 
was  fifty  bushels  per  day  Bolting  was  done  with 
a  hand  sieve  when  required,  but  the  meal  was 
mostly  used  unbolted.  No  toll  was  taken,  the 
persons  using  the  mill  furnishing  the  team. 
Some  people  from  Iowa  would  come  across  the 
river  in  the  winter  on  the  ice  and  use  this  prim- 
itive mill.  Such  was  the  way  these  hardy  pio- 
neers managed  to  surmount  the  many  difficulties 
that  surrounded  them.  But  they  as  well  as  thous- 
ands of  others  scattered  all  along  the  Rock  river 
and  all  over  the  northwest  country  toiled  along 
with  indomitable  energy  until  they,  by  per- 
severence  and  pluck,  have  developed  one  of  the 
fairest  of  the  portions  of  our  broad  land  into- 


265 

what  we  see  to  day  a  land  teeming  with  well  cul- 
tivated farms  and  well  built  cities  and  villages. 

Nearly  all  of  these  emigrants  brought  more  or 
less  ready  means  with  them.  Spending  them  in 
opening  up  their  farms,  erecting  houses,  barns, 
etc. 

In  about  1840,  after  the  great  financial  revo- 
lution of  1837,  and  from  that  date  until  1848,  all 
business  seemed  to  be  parallyzed.  Farmers  had  by 
1840  commenced  to  raise  a  surplus  of  produce 
but  there  was  no  market;  no  money  to  buy  what 
they  had  to  sell.  Wheat  was  35  cents,  corn  6J 
to  10  cents  and  even  at  these  low  prices  the  farmer 
could  get  no  money,  not  enough  to  pay  their  tax- 
es, not  enough  sometimes  to  pay  the  postage  on  a 
letter,  which  cost  25  cents  then.  All  necessaries 
such  as  dry  goods,  clothing,  hardware,  etc.,  were 
under  the  almost  free  importation  of  foreign 
goods  of  that  day  very  high,  the  best  calico  25  to 
35  cents  per  yard,  common  strong  muslin  15  to 
20  cents  and  everything  else  in  proportion  in  the 
line  of  dry  goods.  Occasionally  a  farmer  would 
take  a  load  of  wheat  to  Chicago  and  get37J  cents 
per  bushel  and  load  back*  sometimes  with  salt 
and  other  heavy  commodities.  The  return  he 
would  get  after  paying  his  expenses"  was  small 
indeed.  Pork  was  from  1  to  1-J  cents  per  pound. 
In  1842  I  well  recollect  a  farmer  who.  lived  near 
Prophetstown  on  Rock  river  brought  a  load  of  as 
fine  young  Berkshirepigs  as  I  ever  saw  to  Galena. 


266 

He  went  through  the  streets  trying  tosell  his  load 
at  $1.25  per  100  pounds,  some  Irish  women  and 
men  were  following  him  around,  offering  him  one 
cent  per  pound.  Towards  night  he  had  been  im- 
bibing pretty  freely  and  commenced  crying  "show 
me  a  decent  Irishmen  and  I  will  give  him  a  pig." 
This  was  in  Galena  where  there  was  money  to 
buv  anything  that  was  offered  if  wanted. 

From  this  we  can  form  some  estimate  of  the 
stringency  of  the  times  in  less  favored  sections  of 
the  country. 

This  story  is  told  of  Henry  Eberhart,  who  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Edgington  township. 
He  brought  a  load  of  wheat  of  40  bushels 
into  Rock  Island  and  sold  it  at  35  cents  per  bushel, 
taking  his  pay  in  dry  goods.  Meeting  some  friends 
he  took  a  little  to  much  of  tangle  foot  and 
towards  night  his  team  getting  tired  of  waiting 
broke  loose  and  started  for  home.  When  he 
found  his  team  gone,  he  started  off  on  foot  towards 
home  with  his  bundle  of  dry  goods  slung  over  his 
shoulder.  Meeting  some  one  who  knew  him  they 
asked  him  what  he  was  carrying.  He  replied, 
"I  am  carrying  40  bushels  of  wheat."  Laboring 
men  received  not  to  exceed  fifty  ctmts  per  day 
and  were  usually  paid  in  an  order  for  goods  on  a 
store.  We  complain  of  the  hard  times  of  the 
present,  when  a  days  wages  for  common  labor  is 
from  $1.25  to  $1.75,  and  everything  except  meats 
and  groceries  is  less  than  one-half  the  prices  paid 


267 

in  these  early  days.  In  my  long  sojourn  in  the 
valley  of  the  upper  Mississippi  I  have  passed 
through  three  or  four  financial  crisises,  butl  must 
say  that  the  present  one  upon  us  differs  altogeth- 
er from  any  other  in  the  past  history  of  the  coun- 
try. It  is  not  from  the  want  of  money,  the  coun- 
try is  teeming  with  surplus  capital  seeking  invest- 
ment, but  finding  none  owing  to  distrust  of  the 
future.  It  is  not  for  the  want  of  food  supplies,  we 
have  an  abundant  overflowing  surplus  which  we 
cannot  sell.  Manufactured  goods  are  abundant 
and  cheaper  then  we  have  ever  known  heretofore, 
with  all  this  abundant  supply,  of  all  that  is  needed. 
it  would  seem  ought  togiveus  prosperous  times, 
thousands  of  laborers  all  over  our  seemingly  pros- 
perous country  are  thrown  out  of  employment.  The 
wheels  of  manufacturing  industry  are  still,  all 
classes  in  our  country  are  looking  on  in  amaz- 
ment  and  dismay  at  this  paralysis  of  the  whole 
business  ol  the  country.  It  is  said  that  Nero  was 
fiddling  and  rejoicing  when  Rome  was  burn- 
ing. The  majority  in  our  two  houses  of  con- 
gress are  playing  the  role  of  Nero  in  still  persisting 
in  trying  to  carry  out  their  policy,  in  passing 
their  tariff  and  siegnorage  bills.  Notwithstanding 
the  protests  that  are  coming  to  them  from  every 
manufacturing  interest  in  the  northern  states. 
They  must  carry  out  their  free  trade  platform. 
Must  obey  the  the  behests  of  the  southern  agricul- 
ural  states. 


268 

This  is  somewhat  of  a  digression  from  my  nar- 
rative of  passing  events,  in  part  going  over  ground 
treated  in  the  earlier  part  of  my  life. 

The  Old  Canal  and  the  Hennepin, 

In  1836  our  state  inaugurated  the  wild  and 
extravagant  system  of  internal  improvements  in 
which  they  proposed  to  make  every  small  river 
in  the  state  a  navigable  stream,  and  commenced 
the  construction  of  railroads  in  many  parts  of 
the  state,  one  of  whicl:  was  the  Illinois  Central 
starting  at  Cairo  and  terminating  at  Galena.  On 
this  road  a  large  amount  of  work  was  done  from 
Savanna  to  Galena,  which  has  been  partly  utiliz- 
ed since  by  the  Burlington.  At  the  same  time  a 
canal  was  commenced  on  VandrufFs  Island  and 
also  at  Sterling  to  improve  the  rapids  at  that 
point.  Some  200  men  were  employed  on  the  is- 
land in  excavating  a  ditch  for  the  purpose  of 
making  Rock  river  a  navigable  stream.  Canal 
script,  state  script  and  state  bonds,  were  issued  to 
carry  on  this  vast  system  of  improvements  which 
was  to  benefit  every  county  in  the  state.  Those 
counties  which  from  their  location  could  receive 
no  direct  benefit  from  these  contemplated  improve- 
ments were  to  receive  money  or  state  script.  The 
legislature  seemed  to  think  their  means  and  credit 
were  unlimited.  They  even  passed  an  act  mak- 
ing state  bank  money  a  lawful  tender  for  govern- 


269 

ment  land.  Lieut.  Governor  Menard,  an  old 
Frenchman,  says  to  them,  "you  can  pass  him,  but 
I  bet  one  tollar  Uncle  Sam  no  take  de  state  mon- 
ish."  Towards  fall  in  1836  the  bubble  burst. 
The  script  was  paid  out  to  the  men  employed  on 
the  various  works  at  50  cents  on  the  dollar  in  a 
few  weeks  it  was  selling  at  25  cents.  Many  men 
who  thought  themselves  rich  suddenly  found 
themselves  bankrupt.  All  the  banks  of  the  state 
suspended  specie  payments.  The  state  during  this 
craze  had  incurred  a  debt  of  $29,000,000.  For 
some  years  the  tide  of  emigration  which  had  been 
flowing  into  the  state  suddenly  ceased.  Emigrants 
feared  the  excessive  taxation  that  must  be  laid 
upon  the  people  to  rid  themselves  of  this  vast  debt 
fora  young  undeveloped  state.  So  much  forthese 
disasterous  times  brought  on  in  part  by  the  sui- 
cidal policy  of  the  Jackson  administration  in 
wielding  the  whole  power  of  the  government 
against  the  United  States  bank  breaking  it  down, 
and  making  the  state  banks  the  depositors  of  the 
government  funds,  and  thus  encouraging  specu- 
lation, as  I  have  stated  in  the  earlier  part  of  my 
narrative.  To  return  to  the  canal,  some  remains 
of  this  ancient  work  still  remain  to  be 
seen  on  the  north  side  of  the  island.  The 
idea  of  building  a  canal  from  Hennepin  to  Rock 
Island  uniting  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
was  first  advocated  about  18o4.  I  think  Major 
Allen,  of  Geneseo,  was  the  first  one  who  took  a 


270 

leading  part  in  urging  its  importance  on  the  coun- 
try. He  was  for  many  years  the  county  clerk  of 
Henry  county.  Since  that  time  many  conven- 
tions have  been  held  at  Rock  Island  and  other 
points  to  influence  the  congress  of  the  United 
States  to  order  surveys  of  the  proposed  route  and 
to  make  an  appropriation  for  building  it.  A  bill 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  project  was  drafted 
and  at  every  session  of  congress  since,  attempts 
have  been  made  to  have  action  taken  about 
it  by  the  members  of  congress  for  our  own 
district,  and  also  by  the  representative  from 
Iowa,  by  the  senators  from  our  state  and  Iowa. 
Delegations  of  citizens  from  our  city  and  from 
Davenport  and  Moline  have  been  sent  to 
Washington  to  try  and  help  loby  it  through. 
Whether  they  done  anything  towards  helping 
along  the  project  is  a  matter  of  doubt,  but  they 
had  a  good  time  generaly,  without  any  expense  to 
themselves,  and  some  of  them  tried  to  accom- 
plish a  good  stroke  of  business  for  themselves, 
while  acting  for  the  public,  and  came  very  near 
accomplishing  a  measure  affecting  the  interests 
of  all  this  section  of  country  most  disasterously. 
Fortunately  the  project  was  nipped  in  the  bud. 
The  great  bridge  connecting  the  three  cities  still 
remains  a  free  highway  for  all  the  people  of  this 
section. 

A  few  years  before  the  first  appropriation  of $500,- 
000  was  made  by  congress  there  was  a  good   deal 


271 

of  contention  about  the  termination  of  the  pro- 
posed canal,  whirh  had  a  tendency  to  retard 
action  by  congress.  Clinton-  and  Lyons  wished, 
it  to  terminate  on  the  Mississippi  by  way  of  the 
Meridocia,  above  the  rapids.  Moline  had  a  pro- 
ject for  its  termination  on  the  rapids  at  Water- 
town,  bringing  it  down  the  rapids  by  a  canal  and 
slack  water  to  Moline.  Moline  spent  considerable 
money  in  having  surveys  made  of  the  route  pro- 
posed and  sending  delegates  to  congress.  The 
engineers  employed  by  the  government  after  look- 
ing over  all  the  routes  finally  decided  that  the 
terminus  should  be  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  rivcr. 
Then  arose  a  contention  between  Rock  Island  and 
Davenport  as  to  which  side  of  the  river  should 
have  the  preference.  Rock  Island  wished  it  to 
follow7  the  north  bank  and  aslough  running  along 
side  of  the  Mississippi  to  a  point  ju^t  below  the 
city  line.  This  no  doubt  would  have  been  the 
route  selected  as  all  the  surveys  that  had  been 
made  were  on  the  north  bank.  But  private  greed 
stepped  in  asking  an  extravagant  price  for  some 
land  on  Vandruff  Island  and  defeated  this  pet 
measure  of  Rock  Island.  A.  new  survey  was  ord- 
ered on  the  south  side,  and  was  found  to  be  less 
expensive  and  to  give  a  good  terminus  in  deep 
water  on  the  Mississippi,  Work  was  commenced 
and  has  been  prosecuted  vigorously  under  the 
able  management  and  direction  of  Mr.  Wheeler, 
the  engineer  in  charge.  The  earth  and  rock  ex 


272 

cavation,  the  two  massive  locks  for  the  work  are 
nearly  all  completed  for  a  distance  of  about  five 
miles  to  Carr's  island. 

Now  as  to  the  question  whether  the  building 
of  this  canal  which  will  cost  when  completed  ac- 
cording to  the  estimates  some  $8,000,000  will  ever 
be  of  any  real  benefit  to  the  commerce  of  the  coun- 
try. It  will  be  many  years  even  under  the  most 
favorable  auspices  before  it  can  be  finished,  as 
there  will  always  be  a  strong  opposition  in  con- 
gress against  making  large  or  even  any  appro- 
priation to  this  doubtful  measure. 

When  it  is  finished  (if  it  ever  is)  what  valuable 
purpose  will  it  serve  in  the  interests  of  commerce. 
Our  noble  rive-r  as  being  used  less  arid  less  from 
year  to  year  for  commericial  purposes.  The  main 
and  principal  use  now  is  for  transportation  of  lum- 
ber rafts  from  the  upper  Mississippi.  The  pine  for- 
ests from  which  these  rafts  are  supplied  are  being 
fast  denuded  and  already  the  larger  share  of  logs  are 
used  there,  cut  in  the  upper  country.  Only  a  few 
small  sized  stern  wheeled  boats  are  now  engaged  in 
carrying  passengers  and  what  little  freight  is  of- 
fered. A  few  excursion  boats  plying  between  the 
villages  and  cities  along  the  river.  The  numer- 
ous raft  boats  will  soon  be  no  more.  Railroads 
crossing  the  Mississippi  at  this  point  will  not  re- 
ship  their  freight  on  the  canal.  About  all  the 
traffic  that  will  seek  canal  route  will  be  such  heavy 
articles  as  iron  and  salt  coming  by  the  lakes.  The 


273     . 

many  improvements  being  made  in  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  upper  Mississippi  costing  many  mil- 
lions from  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul  will  sooner  or 
later  be  discontinued  as  an  useless  expenditure 
of  money.  This  seems  to  be  an  inevitable  result 
growing  out  of  the  present  tendency  of  things.  A 
result  much  to  be  deplored  by  those  who  have 
from  year  to  year  noticed  the  falling  off  of  the 
business  by  the  way  of  the  river.  When  we  look 
back  a  few  years  when  our  magnificient  steamers 
were  plowing  their  way  up  and  down  the  river 
loaded  with  freight  and  passengers.  The  freight 
for  transportation  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  by  the 
way  of  New  Orleans.  And  now  alas !  where  are 
they?  The  iron  horse  with  its  net  work  of  lines 
quartering  the  northwest  in  every  direction 
parallyzing  and  throttling  the  river,  Anaconda 
like  on  both  side,  destroying  its  usefulness  for  com- 
mercial purposes.  But  the  grand  beautiful  river 
still  will  flow  on,  ever  blessing  the  inhabitants  of 
its  banks  with  its  glorious  and  beautiful  scenery. 
We  can  still,  if  we  will,  take  an  occasional  ex- 
cursion up  or  down  the  river  for  a  short  distance, 
enjoying  the  fine  scenery  found  all  along  its 
shores. 

My  Old  Galena  Home  for  a  Quarter  of  a  Century. 

I  visit  Galena,  my    place  of  residence   for  so 
many  years,  almost  every  year.     I  still  find  there 

18 


274 

a  few  warm  friends  whom  I  knevv  during  the  last 
years  of  my  eojourn  there.  But  alas,  of  the  many 
dear  friends  that  I  knew  in  the  days  of  my  youth 
when  I  first  arrived,  only  three  remain  alive.  Gen, 
G.  Jones,  Mrs.  Jas.  G.  Soulard  and  Mrs.  A.  G.  S. 
Wight.  They  are  all  close  on  to  90  years  of  age. 
But  the  rugged  picturesque  hills  of  this  old 
"Lead  City  of  the  Hills"  still  remain  the  same  as 
they  were  during  the  days  of  its  commercial 
glory.  It  still  has  about  the  same  population 
thatjt  had  30  years  ago.  It  has  the  same  well 
built  brick  stores  strung  along  the  upper  part  of 
its  narrow  Main  street  filled  with  well  selected 
stocks  of  goods  for  the  retail  country  trade.  Many 
substantial  brick  dwellings  are  scattered  along 
Bench  street,  whose  occupants  can  look  down 
into  the  upper  stories  oftheir  neighbors  living  on 
Main  street.  There  are  many  beautiful  homes 
scattered  along  and  near  the  crest  of  the  steep 
hill  sides,  the  foundations  for  which  have  been 
litterly  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rocks.  Their  small 
yards  filled  with  a  wealth  of  beautiful  flowers  and 
shrubs  and  shady  gro ves  of  evergreen  treejs.  Near- 
ly all  the  yards,  even  the  humble  cabins  have  a 
little  spot  devoted  to  roses  and  other  flowers.  The 
many  church  spires  are  gathered  together  in  a 
small  semi-circle  on  Bench  street,  their  tall  spires 
reaching  only  half  way  up  the  steep  bluff.  There 
are  many  stairways,  up  which  the  people  living 
on  the  hill  make  their  toilsome  ascent  of  300  feet. 


275 

At  the  termination  of  one  of  these  stairways  on 
the.  highest  crest  of  the  hills  is  the  High  School 
building,  a  massive  brick  structure  overlooking 
the  little  city.  This  building  was  erected  in  1856 
under  my  administration  and  direction  as  super- 
intendent of  the  public  schools  during  its  erection. 

But  the  crowning  attraction  in  old  Galena,  is 
the  Grant  Park  containing  theGrantand  Soldier's 
monuments.  The  park  contains  about  ten  acres, 
stretching  along  and  overlooking  the  river  face- 
ing  West  Galena.  The  ground  around  the  mon- 
ument is  a  level  gravelled  plat,  with  an  elevation 
of  about  fifty  feet  ahove  the  river.  The  rest  of  the 
park  is  undulatingground,  sloping  away  in  every 
direction,  filled  with  many  flower  beds,  young 
evergreens,  a  few  native  trees  of  oak  and  hickory. 
The  outlook  from  the  park  is  very  picturesque 
and  grand  in  every  direction.  On  the  north  lies 
the  quaint  little  city  resting  in  a  semi-circle  of  hills, 
on  the  south  and  east  is  East  Galena  with  its  set- 
ting of  hills  deeply  wooded.  In  the  distance  are 
seen  many  mounds  rising  some  300  feet  above  the 
general  level  of  the  country. 

This  mining  region  is  the  highest  land  in  the 
state.  The  glaziers  during  the  ice  period  seem  to 
have  passed  around  the  whole  lead  mine  district, 
embracing  an  area  of  some  fifty  miles  in  each  di- 
rection, leaving  it  undenuded.  No  granite  bould- 
ers or  drift  is  found  in  the  mining  district.  High 
peaks  are  found  scattered  all  over  this  section. 


Pilot  Knob  just  south  of  Galena,  with  its  outlook 
for  many  miles  up  and  down  the  groat  river; 
Waddle's  and  Hinkley's  Mounds  a  short  distance 
east  of  Galena.  The  sloping,  beautiful  Platteville 
Mound  and  the  Blue  Mounds  in  Wisconsin.  They 
all  stand  as  sentinels  overlooking  the  country  and 
it  would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  must  have  been 

and  ages  ago,  that  another  and  older  ice  per- 
iod which  denuded  this  lead  mine  district,  left 
these  lonely  peaks  of  mountain  lime  stone 
uridenuded.  Occasionally  beds  of  shells  are  found 
in  mineral  holes  and  wells  in  this  section. 

Galenians  are  justly  proud  of  their  record  in 
the  past,  as  having  been  the  commercial  center 
of  the  Northwest.  They  also  speak  with  pride  of 
the  many  strong  men  who  have  gone  out  from 
these  rugged  hills,  who  have  made  their  mark  in 
every  city  and  village  from  Chicago  to  the  Paci- 
fic coast. 

lena  is  still  a  pleasant  place  in  which  to 
spend  ones  declining  years.  It's  a  cheap  place 
in  which  to  live.  The  market  square  where  all 
the  farmers  and  hucksters  congregate  twice  a 
week,  is  well  supplied  with  every  thing  needed, 
coming  in  from  the  well  cultivated  farms  in  the 
neighborhood.  This  market  is  one  of  the  sights 
of  Galena  worth  seeing,  with  its  array  in  the  fall 

•  n  of  choice  vegetables  and  fruit.  Where 
the  housekeeper  can  go  and  purchase  all  the 
wants  for  the  table. 


277 

Galena  has  an  artisian  well  with  an  abundant 
flow  of  excellent  pure  water.  The  supply  is  suf- 
ficient for  fire  purposes  and  is  carried  all  over  the 
city,  being  forced  up  the  hills  by  steam  power.  It's 
source  is  found  in  the  St.  Peters  sand  stone  for- 
mation at  a  depth  of  l.oOO  feet. 

In  June.  ISiM,  1  attended  the  unveiling  of  the 
grand  monument  of  Gen.  Grant,  so  generously 
donated  by  Mr.  Koblsatt,  of  Chicago,  whose  boy- 
hood life  was  passed  in  Galena.  The  occasion 
drew  an  immense  crowd  from  all  parts  of  the 
West.  Chicago  was  well  represented  by  many  of 
the  friends  of  the  dead  hero,  who  had  formerly 
lived  in  Galena.  Chauneey  M.  Depevv  was  the  or- 
ator of  the  day  and  held  the  vast  crowd  spell 
bound  by  his  splendid  elVort.  It  was  one  of  the 
gala  days  of  old  Galena,  and  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  were  there. 

Geology  of  Rook  Island  County. 


The  geological  strata  underlying  tins  county 
and  coming  to  the  surface  is  somewhat  singular. 
It  is  tho  northern  outcrop  of  the  lower  strata  of 
the  coal  measures.  The  upper  iVxvnian,  the 
Hamilton  series  underlay  all  the  middle  and  low- 
er portions  of  the  county.  The  Niagura  or  upper 
siluria  is  found  in  the  upper  portion  of  the 
i-ounty  cropping  out  at  Port  I>yron.  A  portion 


278 

of  three  of  the  great  systems  of  the  earth's  crust 
coming  to  the  surface  all  within  the  space  of  15 
to  20  miles.  All  of  these  systems  are  rich  in  the 
different  fossils  peculiar  to  their  formations.  Af- 
fording an  ample  field  for  the  geologist. 

That  portion  of  the  country  lying  south  and 
east  of  the  Mississippi  and  Rock  river  ranges  of 
bluffs,  is  underlaid  with  the  coal  measures.  The 
eoal  being  fouttd  in  pockets  or  basins,  and  the 
larger  portions  of  these  deposits  are  mostly  ex- 
hausted. The  largest  coal  deposits  are  found 
south  of  Rock  river  in  the  neighborhood  of  Coal 
Valley,  from  which  an  immense  amount  of  coal 
has  been  taken  in  the  past.  There  are  still  mines 
there  that  are  being  worked,  but  the  mines  worked 
there  by  P.  L.  Cable  are  exhausted.  Chas,  Earnes 
and  William  Books  were  the  first  pioneers  in  the 
coal  industry.  They  opened  the  mines  cropping 
out  of  the  bluffs,  a  little  west  of  Carbon  cliff. 
They  commenced  this  work  in  1836.  The  deposit 
did  not  prove  to  be  very  extensive  and  was  ex- 
hausted in  a  few  years.  A  Galena  man,  Samuel 
D.  Carpenter  worked  these  mines  a  short  time  in 
1838,  and  the  large  tract  of  land  embracing  the 
mines  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of  Henry  Cor- 
with,  of  Galena.  The  next  mines  opened  were 
found  just  north  of  Black  Hawk's  town,  and  were 
first  opened  by  Lemuel  Andrews  while  we  were 
partners.  This  was  in  1839.  These  mines  have 
been  worked  since  by  different  parties,  but  in  late 


279 

years  by  Bailey  Davenport,  the  owner  of  the  land. 
The  Coal  Valley  mines  were  opened  later  and 
were  at  first  operated  by  Ben  Harper,  8.  S. 
Guyer  &  Henry  Hakes.  They  were  operating 
them  as  late  as  1850.  I  bought  a  barge  load  at 
that  time  of  Mr.  Hakes,  for  the  use  of  the  War 
Eagle  Mills  at  Galena  paying  12J  cents  per 
bushel  delivered.  The  mines  finally  fell  into  the 
hands  of  P.  L.  Cable,  who  worked  them  success- 
fully making  a  large  profit  from  them,  as  I  stated 
before  in  my  narrative.  The  coal  industry  be- 
came a  very  important  one  to  Rock  Island,  when 
the  steamboats  in  their  palmy  days  commenced 
using  coal  instead  of  wood  for  most  of  their  fuel. 
This  became  their  principal  coaling  point  above 
St.  Louis.  Steamboats  usually  took  on  a  supply 
for  going  both  up  the  river  and  down.  The 
amount  of  tons  mined  in  the  county  in  1880  was 
about  3,000,  amounting  at  the  mines  to  some 
$550,000.  This  estimate  did  not  include  the 
large  amount  brought  in  by  teams  for  domestic 
use,  from  the  Porter  Bowles  and  other  mines  ly- 
ing north  of  Rock  river. 

The  Naigura  limestone  found  at  Port  Byron  and 
Cordova  makes  an  excellent  lime,  and  in  early 
days  was  shipped  largely  to  all  parts  of  the  upper 
Mississippi.  It  was  one  of  the  leading  industries 
of  these  two  river  towns.  The  limestone  quarries 
found  in  the  county  are  used  mostly  for  common 
work,  building  cellars  mostly,  not  being  fit  for 
finer  use. 


280 
The  Death  of  the  Great  Hungarian  Patriot. 

A  telegram  from  Turin,  Italy,  dated  March, 
21st,  1894,  announces  the  death  of  Louis  Kossuth, 
the  distinguished  Hungarian  patriot  and  orator, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  92.  Thus  the  great 
men  of  a  past  age  are  passing  away  one  by  one. 

In  the  great  revolutionary  upheaval  of  1848 
when  the  oppressed  people  nearly  all  over  Europe 
arose  in  their  might  and  attempted  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  of  their  oppressors,  when  thrones  of  Kings 
tottered  and  many  of  the  little  princelets  of  Ger- 
many were  obliged  to  flee  to  save  their  lives  from 
the  wrath  of  outraged  people,  when  Italy  under 
the  lead  of  the  brave  Garibaldi  threw  off  the  hat- 
ed yoke  of  Austria  and  the  fatal  domination  of 
the  hierarchy  of  Rome  and  would  have  succeeded 
but  for  the  interference  of  Napolean  the  III  "The 
Little;"  When  poor  down  trodden  Ireland  caught 
anew  the  revolutionary  spirit  and  attempted  to 
throw  off  the  domination  of  England,  ending  as 
all  similar  attempts  heretofore  have  done  in  de- 
feat and  the  imprisonment  and  banishment  of 
many  of  her  talented  sons.  It  was  at  the  time  of 
the  great  uprising  of  the  oppressed  people  of  Eu- 
rope that  Louis  Kossuth  and  his  compatriots  at- 
tempted to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  double  head- 
ed eagle  of  Austria,  and  assert  their  independence 
as  a  free  people.  The  Austrians  were  driven  out 
of  the  county  in  a  very  short  time  by  the  Hun- 


281 

garians  under  the  lead  of  the  brave  Kossuth,  Gen. 
Bern  and  ether  leaders.  But  at  this  juncture  the 
Bear  of  the  North,  the  Czar  of  Russia,  with  his 
horde  of  Cossacks  appeared  and  interfered  with  an 
overwhelming  force.  The  brave  Hungarians 
were  driven  from  their  strong-holds  one  after  the 
other.  Their  last  stand  was  made  at  Comorn, 
which  resisted  the  combined  attack  of  Austrians 
and  Russians  for  a  number  of  weeks,  but  was 
obliged  to  succumb  at  last.  I  well  recollect  hear- 
ing the  silver  tounged,  talented  orator,  Ed.  Baker, 
who  was  our  whig  candidate  for  congress  in  the 
Galena  district,  describe  in  glowing  words  the 
terrible  contest  raging  at  this  time  around  the 
strong  walls  of  the  beleagured  fortress  of  Comorn. 
This  attempt  by  Hungary  for  a  separate  political 
existance  failed,  and  Louis  Kossuth  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  patriots  were  driven  into  exile.  Kos- 
suth has  remained  an  exile  ever  since,  re- 
fusing to  return  to  his  native  country  while  it 
was  united  to  Austria.  He  was  often  invited  to 
do  so,  but  always  refused.  One  of  these  patriotic 
Hungarians,  Count  Harasty  came  to  this  section 
of  the  country  settling  first  at  Aztalan  on  the  up- 
per waters  of  Rock  river,  where  he  built  a  small 
steamboat,  bringing  it  down  the  river  and  taking 
it  to  Galena  and  from  there  up  the  Wisconsin 
river  to  Prairie  Du  Sac,  where  he  settled  perman- 
ently. While  the  count  was  in  Galena  he  bor- 
rowed some  money  of  an  excentric  old  German, 


282 

and  pledged  his  gold  embroidered  coat  as  secur- 
ity. He  did  not  redeem  it.  Whenever  the  old 
man  had  taken  too  much  beer,  he  would  put  on 
this  bespangled  coat  and  march  up  and  down  the 
streets  of  Galena. 

Louis  Kossuth  came  to  this  country  and  was 
enthusiasticly  received  every  where,  visitingmany 
of  the  chief  cities  of  the  north.  He  was  permitted 
to  address  congress  on  the  subject  that  engrossed 
all  his  thoughts.  The  great  wrong  done  his  be- 
loved country  by  the  interference  of  Russia  in 
coming  to  the  assistance  of  Austria.  The  object 
of  his  mission  to  this  country  and  to  England  was 
to  create  a  public  sentiment  against  this  kind  of 
interference  by  outside  nations  against  people 
struggling  for  liberty  to  manage  their  own  affairs. 
His  speeches  made  at  the  points  he  visited  were 
all  reported  in  the  New  York  Tribune.  They 
were  models  of  pure  chaste  English,  eloquent  and 
charming.  He  must  have  had  a  wonderful  re- 
tentive memory.  In  all  the  speeches  that  he  made 
in  the  different  cities  he  would  recite  all  the  prin- 
cipal events  that  had  occurred  during  the  period 
of  their  revolutionary  history.  It. was  simply 
marvelous  how  he  could  in  so  short  a  time  be- 
tween his  visits  from  one  city  to  the  other,  mas- 
ter and  give  so  correctly  all  the  details  connected 
with  each  one. 

A  Hungarian  fund  was  raised  through  the  New 
York  Tribune  to  which  I  contributed  $10,  receiv- 


283 

ing  for  the  same  a  neatly  engraved  note  having 
the  great  Hungarian's  picture,  to  be  paid  the  first 
year  after  the  declaration  of  Hungarian  independ- 
ence. I  have  it  at  this  time,  still  in  my  possession. 
This  is  somewhat  of  a  digression  from  my  nara- 
tive,  but  I  give  it  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a 
truly  great  man,  one  of  the  heroes  of  this  century. 
The  Prince  Delonville  and  Due  Des  Chartres, 
sons  of  Louis  Philip  of  France,  passed  through 
Galena  in  1842,  stopping  over  there  one  day  on 
their  way  down  the  river  to  New  Orleans.  They 
had  been  to  Green  Bay  to  visit  the  missionary, 
Williams,  who  claimed  to  be  the  dauhpin  of 
France,  the  son  of  Queen  Maria  Antionette.  who 
soon  after  the  death  of  the  King  and  Queen  by 
guillotine  during  the  first  terrible  days  of  the 
French  revolution  of  1798,  was  secretly  taken  by 
a  faithful  servant  of  the  family  and  carried  to 
New  Orleans  where  he  remained  some  years  un- 
der the  care  of  this  guardian  and  was  finally 
taken  to  Green  Bay  where  there  was  a  large 
French  settlement.  He  was,  as  he  alleged,  taken 
there  for  safety  after  Louisiana  was  transferred  to 
France  by  Spain,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of 
Spain  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Mr.  Williams  at 
the  time  of  their  visit  was  a  Catholic  mission- 
ary to  the  Oneida  Indians,  one  of  the  confeder- 
ate tribes  of  the  six  nations  of  New  York  who 
were  settled  on  a  reservation  some  five  miles  east 
of  Green  Bay.  The  report  had  reached  Louis 


284 

Philip  of  the  claim  of  Williams  to  be  the  dauphin 
and  it  was  supposed  that  the  princes  were  sent 
out  to  ascertain  if  there  was  any  foundation  to 
his  claim.  Whether  they  ascertained  that  he 
was  an  impostor  or  not  was  never  known  to  the 
outside  world,  as  no  report  of  the  result  wasjever 
made  public.  Mr.  Williams  died  many  years 
ago.  In  1852  I  went  to  Green  Bay  to  visit  Wm. 
E.  Thomas,  a  former  editor  of  the  Galena  Gazette, 
while  there  we  went  out  to  the  scene  of  Mr.  Wil- 
laims'  labors  among  these  Indians.  We  went 
out  to  church  and  found  a  good  sized  chapel  arid 
listened  to  a  discourse  by  an  Indian  pastor.  The 
Indians  were  mostly  dressed  in  our  costumes. 
There  was  a  large  settlement  with  many  farms, 
fairly  well  cultivated  and  with  good  comfortable 
dwellings. 

This  grand  old  French  settlement  had  many 
things  of  interest.  It  stretched  along  up  the  Fox 
river.  The  little  holdings  of  land  outside  of  the 
village  were  only  about  300  feet  fronting  on  the 
Fox  river  extending  back  nearly  two  miles  in 
length  to  another  small  river,  giving  each  set- 
tler so  many  arpents  fronting  on  both  streams. 
Senator  Howe  lived  at  this  time  in  Green  Bay, 


285 

Moral  Extracts  From  Various  Authors  and  Com- 
ments--To  be  Bead  or  Skipped  as 
may  Suit  the  Reader. 

"How  tedious  and  how  tasteless  the  hours, 

When  Jesus  no  longer  I  see, 
Sweet  birds,  sweet  prospects,  sweet  flowers 

Hare  all  lost  their  charms  for  me." 

This,  an  extract  from  an  old  hymn,  is  the  re- 
frain of  a  soul  who  has  lost  communion  with 
God  in  nature,  who  no  longer  sees  the  hand  of  a 
kind,  loving  Father  in  all  His  works,  who  watches 
over  and  will  see  to  the  final  happiness  and 
well  being  of  all  the  sentient  beings  He  has 
created. 

"When  man  lives  with  God  his  voice  shall  be 
sweet  as  the  murmur  of  brooks,  or  the  rustle  of 
corn." 

"The  soul  of  man  is  not  an  organ  but  animates 
"  and  exercises  all  the  organs.  Is  not  a  function 
"  like  the  power  of  memory  or  calculation  of 
"  comparison,  but  uses  them  as  hands  and  feet.  Is 
"  not  a  faculty  but  a  light.  Is  not  intellect  or  will, 
"  but  the  master  of  intellect  and  will.  Is  the 
"  vast  back  ground  of  our  being  in  which  they 
"  lie,  an  immensity  not  possessed,  that  cannot  be 
"possessed." — Emerson  on  our  soul. 

"Love  is  Heaven's  highest  law,  the  synonym 
"  of  God.  God  builds  his  temple  in  the  ruins  of 
"  churches  and  creeds.  Clear  of  the  blots  of  human 
"  ignorance  and  superstition  from  our  church 


286 

"  creeds  and  catechisms  and  sacred  biographies, 
"  our  theological  treatises,  makes  them  to  be  more 
"  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Divine  Mas- 
"  ter,  the  essence  of  which  is  love  and  good  will  to 
"  all  the  race." 

"Woe  to  the  churches  that  look  backward  like 
"  Lot's  wife.  They  will  in  the  future  become 
"  mere  monuments  of  death." — Pere  Hyacinth. 

"The  revelation  of  organic  law  is  Love,  from 
"  which  results  the  order  oi  the  Universe.  The 
"  gravitation  of  atoms,  the  attraction  of  seas  and 
"  worlds,  the  union  of  all  created  things,  from 
"  the  highest  star  to  the  tiniest  plant.  From  the 
"  crawling  insect  to  man  who  walks  with  his  brow 
"  elevated  towards  Heaven  in  seach  of  the  great 
"  author  of  his  being." — Santaine  in  Pwcola. 

"Nature  with  its  flowers  and  fruits,  its  perfumes 
"  and  spices,  blooms  and  gems,  its  woods,  and 
"  streams,  skies  and  seas,  its  quivering  warmth 
"  and  tenderness  under  the  familar  sunlight,  and 
"  its  cool  solemn  stillness  under  the  glittering 
"  stars,  awakens  feelings  of  awe  and  devotion 
"  for  the  Great  Creator  of  this  world  of  beauty.'5 — 

Henry  M.  Alden. 

"Man  is  so  made  he  must  believe  in  the  invis- 
"  able  and  adore  the  supreme.  Tf  he  has  no  God 
"  he  will  resort  to  witchcraft,  spiritualism,  hypno- 
"  tism  and  kindred  delusions.  Only  the  reverent 
"  and  devout  can  learn  how  to  know.  Life  of  every 
"  kind  in  all  its  manifestations  is  God's  love." — 
Philip  Brooks. 


287 
Newspapers  of  Rock  Island. 

The  first  newspaper  started  in  Rook  Island  was 
The  Upper  Mississippi  in  1840,  edited  by  Daniel 
Crist.  It  was  a  whig  paper  in  politics  and  advo- 
cated the  election  of  Gen.  Harrison.  Dr.  Silas 
Reed  an  able  writer  was  an  associate  editor.  He 
was  afterwards  appointed  surveyor  general  for 
the  state  of  Missouri  and  Illinois  and  made  his 
headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  John  G.  Powars, 
the  grandfather  ot  young  Henry  Powars  owned 
at  one  time  a  controlling  interest  in  the  paper. 
Dan'l  G.  Garnsey,  who  was  formerly  a  member 
of  congress  in  the  state  of  New  York  and  who 
had  an  interest  in  the  Chicago  or  lower  addition 
of  Rock  Island,  occasionally  contributed  political 
articles.  He  and  his  son,  Charles  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  political  campaign  that  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Gen.  Harrison.  They  were  rew^rd- 
ed  by  receiving  the  appointment  of  receiver  and 
register  of  the  land  office  at  Dixon,  111.  Under 
the  Pierce  administration,  they  were  succeeded 
by  my  old  time  Democratic  friends,  George  Mex- 
ter  and  John  Dement,  formerly  of  Galena.  A 
number  of  persons  were  connected  with  its  man- 
agement until  1884,  when  the  name  was  changed 
to  the  Rock  Island  Republican,  when  it  passed 
under  the  management  of  Harman  G.  Reynolds, 
who  had  held  the  office  of  probate  judge,  under 
whose  adroit  manipulations  the  Miller  estate  was 


288 

so  managed  by  making  large  yearly  allowances 
to  the  widow,  that  the  creditors  received  nothing, 
and  Miller's  partner  was  left  to  settle  the  debts 
amounting  to  some  $15,000,  as  best  he  could  in 
after  years.  Mr.  Reynolds  held  a  number  of  of- 
fices in-after  years  and  was  a  leading  Mason.  In 
the  riarative  furnished  to  the  compilers  of  the  his- 
tory of  Rock  Island  county  by  J.  B,  Danforth, 
this  man  Reynolds  is  highly  eulogised.  From 
Danforth's  account  one  would  be  led  to  suppose 
that  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  state. 
"Kindred  spirits  in  evil  are  often  wonderous  kind 
to  each  other."  In  1845  the  Advertiser  was  estab- 
lished under  the  direction  and  management  of 
Dr.  Galchell.  William  Vandever  was  the  leading 
editor  for  awhile,  and  continued  his  connection 
with  the  paper  until  the  election  of  Gen,  Taylor 
to  the  presidency  in  1848.  When  he  was  appoint- 
to  a* clerkship  in  Washington  and  afterwards  re- 
ceived a  government  appointment  at  Dubuque, 
Iowa.  He  was  a  General  during  the  war  of  the 
rebelion  and  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle 
of  Pea  Ridge  to  Missouri,  under  Gen,  Curtis.  He 
was  elected  twice  as  Representative  to  Congress 
from  the  Dubuque  district.  A  few  years  after  the 
close  of  the  war  he  moved  to  California.  He  was 
elected  a  Member  of  Congress  from  there.  He  was 
a  genial  wholesouled  gentlemen,  always  made 
friends  wherever  he  went.  He  died  in  California, 
his  adopted  state  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  in  1893. 


289 

The  Democrats  were  without  any  paper  until 
from  1847  to  1857.  Their  paper  was  first  called 
the  Rock  Island  Republican  until  1855  when  the 
name  was  changed  to  the  Rock  Island  Argus. 
The  editor-in-chief  was  J.  B.  Danforth,  a  very 
able  and  talented,  writer,  but  very  unscrupulous, 
a  bitter  partisan,  always  stirring  up  strife  and 
breeding  mischief.  After  a  while,  owing  to  some 
crooked  work  in  financial  matters  in  connection 
with  the  Argus  and  T.  S.  Drake,  the  business  man- 
ager, he  was  ousted  from  his  position.  He  then 
started  the  Rock  Islander,  a  paper  ostensibly  de- 
voted to  the  interests  of  the  laboring  man,  but 
used  mostly  in  venting  his  bitter  feelings  against 
his  former  friends  and  stirring  up  strife  between 
classes;  justifying  'the  anarchists  of  Chicago. 
Fortunately  for  the  peace  of  this  community  he 
severed  his  connection  with  the  Rock  Islander 
and  took  himself  away  to  California,  where  I  learn 
he  has  recently  taken  to  himself  a  wife  in  his  old 
age. 

The  Argus  has  continued  under  the  manage- 
ment of  various  parties  in  late  years,  H.  C.  Con- 
nelly, Robt.  T.  McNeal,  J.  S.  Drake  and  others. 
At  the  present  time  the  controlling  interest  is  said 
to  be  owned  by  the  Hon.  Ben  T.  Cable,  ex-mem- 
ber of  congress  and  the  leading  politician  of  the 
state.  Mr.  Potter,  our  present  efficient  postmaster, 

is  editor-in-chief. 

The  Rock  Island  Union  was  started  in  1862  by 

19 


290 

J.  A.  Kuck.  In  1863  he  sold  his  interest  to  M, 
S.  Barnes,  who  published  a  daily  evening  edition. 
The  daily  has  been  published  up  to  the  present 
time,  but  as  a  morning  paper  since  1866,  at  which 
time  it  became  tne  property  of  Capt.  Havenstick. 
He  was  a  vigorous,  able  writer.  Some  other  par- 
ties became  interested  with  him.  M.  D.  Merill,. 
Richard  Crampton.  and  Oscar  A.  Bernhart  all 
owned  an  interest  in  the  paper  at  different  times 
until  1874  when  the  Union  Printing  Company 
was  organized  with  a  capital  stock  of  $20,000, 
L.  M.  Havenstick,  president,  Walter  Johnson, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  A  number  of  others  be- 
came interested  afterward  as  stockholders  and 
officers:  H.  C.  Cleveland,  J  J.  Parks,  A.^A, 
Morey,  W.  N.  Burdett  and  G.  W.  Lukins.  Wal- 
ter Johnson  has  recently  been  editor-ia-chief  and 
publishes  a  conservative,  creditable  newspaper. 

Early     Days     in    Southern    Wisconsin --Sketches 
of  Some  of  the  Early  Pioneers. 

In  the  summer  of  1893  I  visited  Madison,  the 
capital  of  Wisconsin,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
cities  of  the  North,  located  on  a  broad  plateau, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  clear  limped 
waters  of  the  four  lakes  forming  the  headwaters 
of  Rock  river  with  it's  stately  capitol,  and  court 
house,  occupying  the  center  of  a  large  square,  in 
the  center  of  the  city,  with  its  streets  radiating 


291 

from  each  corner  of  the  same,  Madison  may  for 
its  beauty  and  attractiveness  be  well  called  the 
Queen  City  of  the  Northwest.  I  was  on  my  way 
to  the  Devils  Lake,  a  famous  place  of  summer  re- 
sort. I  spent  a  day  or  more  there  in  seeing  the 
sights.  In  the  evening  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
hear  Professor  La  Conte,  the  noted  scientist,  ad- 
dress the  assembled  scientists  of  the  United  States 
on  "Mountain  Building".  During  the  following 
day  I  went  through  the  various  departments  of 
the  state  under  the  guidance  of  one  of  the  officers, 
a  Platteville  man,  an  old  time  acquaintance.  A 
soldier  of  the  famous  8th  Wisconsin,  who  so  long 
carried  the  old  eagle  perched  on  their  regimental 
flag.  I  passed  most  of  the  time  in  the  picture 
gallery  where  1  found  so  many  familiar  faces  that 
I  had  so  often  met  either  in  a  social  or  business 
way  in  olden  times  in  Galena,  between  1834  and 
1850.  Seeing  these  faces,  many  of  these  dear  de- 
parted friends  called  up  vividly  to  my  mind  many 
reminiscences  of  the  past,  connected  with  their 
history.  Some  of  these  names  and  what  little  I 
knew  of  their  career  in  the  upbuilding  and  de- 
velopment of  the  state  I  will  give.  Henry  Gra- 
tiot,  whose  daughter  Adele,  married  the  Hon.  E. 
B.  Washburn,  settled  at  Gratiot's  Grove  near 
Shullsburg  in  1826.  The  Winnebago  Indians 
had  opened  the  lead  mines  there  and  Henry  Gra- 
tiot  and  his  brother,  J.  P.  B.  Gratiot,  induced  the 
Indians  to  let  them  operate  the  mines  by  their 


292 

paying  them  an  agreed  rent  for  the  same.  They 
soon  built  np  quite  a  flourishing  settlement  among 
them,  connected  with  the  mining  and  smeltingin- 
dustries.  They  paid  large  amounts  of  rent  to  the 
Indians.  A  few  years  after  the  government  agent 
at  Galena  exacted  from  the  Gratiot's  the  usual 
rent  due  the  United  States,  and  they  payed  it  un- 
der protest.  Some  years  later.  E.  B.  Washburn 
presented  a  claim  against  the  United  States  for 
this  rent  unjustly  paid  for  about  $20,000,  and  it 
was  allowed.  Mrs.  Henry  Gratiot  was  one  of  the 
kindest  and  most  motherly  woman  I  ever  knew. 
We  used  often  to  make  up  sleighing  parties  at 
Galena  and  go  out  there  and  have  a  dance.  Mrs. 
Henry  Gratiot  was  a  sister  of  Chas.  S.Hempstead, 
of  Galena.  In  1842,  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, she  moved  into  Galena  and  occupied  rooms 
over  my  store. 

Henry  Dodge,  the  first  Territorial  Governor, 
settled  at  Dodgeville  in  1830.  He  received  his  ap- 
pointment under  the  administration  of  General 
Jackson,  through  the  influence  of  General  G.  Jones, 
the  first  territorial  delegate  from  the  Territory  of 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  I.  P.  Field  was  the  first  Sec- 
retary of  State,  in  after  years  he  went  to  New 
Orleans  and  became  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers 
of  the  state.  I  met  him  after  the  close  of  the  war 
at  Devils  Lake.  He  gave  me  a  graphic  description 
of  the  contest  between  Hays  and  Tilden  for  the 
vote  of  that  state,  going  into  the  details  of  the 


293 

frauds  practiced  by  the  secessionists.  Governor 
Dodge  was  the  first  Senator  from  the  new  state. 
Agustus  C.  Dodge  son  of  Henry  Dodge,  I  knew 
well,  both  at  Galena  and  in  after  years  at  Burling- 
ton, Iowa.  He  was  chosen  Senator  from  Iowa 
and  was  appointed  Minister  to  Spain.  Father 
and  son  were  both  very  dignified,  honest  men. 

General  G.  Jones  settled  at  Sinsinawa  Mound 
some  eleven  miles  from  Galena  in  1828.  He 
was  Surveyor  General,  the  first  territorial 
delegate  and  afterwards  Representative  and  Sena- 
tor from  Iowa,  appointed  by  Buchanan  Minister  to 
Bogotee,  was  recalled  by  Seward  and  sent  to  Fort 
LaFayette  without  any  just  cause.  It  all  grew 
out  of  his  giving  a  letter  of  introduction  to  his 
friend  Jeff  Davis,  to  his  son,  while  Davis  was 
Secretary  of  War  under  James  Buchanan.  I 
notice  lately  that  the  Republican  Governor  of 
Iowa  recommends  to  the  legislature  that  he  be 
made  the  "Guest  of  the  State,"  a  just  tribute  to 
him  in  his  old  age  for  the  many  services  he  has 
rendered  the  state  in  the  past. 

C.  C.  Washburn  came  to  Rock  Island  in  1839, 
taught  school  here  a  few  months  and  held  the  of- 
fice of  county  surveyor  to  fill  a  vacancy.  He 
went  to  Mineral  Point  in  1841  and  went  into 
business  there  with  Cyrus  Woodman  in  banking 
and  other  business.  They  erected  a  shot  tower 
at  Helena,  on  the  Wisconsin  River.  They  utili- 
zed a  high,  rocky,  perpendicular  cliff  for  the  pur- 


294 

pose.  This  was  the  first  shot  tower  put  in  opera- 
tion north  of  St.  Louis.  It  was  this  banking  firm 
and  the  Corwiths,  bankers  in  Galena,  that  made 
George  Smith  take  back-water*  with  his  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  money,  which  he  attempted  to  make  them 
use,  but  did  not  succeed.  He  was  a  Major  Gen- 
eral in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  He  had  com- 
mand of  the  fleet  that  attempted  to  open  the  way 
to  Vicksburg  by  the  way  of  the  deadly  Yazzo. 

He  was  elected  for  five  terms  to  Congress  and 
twice  as  Governor  of  the  State.  He  was  a  man  of 
broad,  liberal  views  and  bequeathed  large  sums 
for  literary  and  scientific  purposes  to  the  city  and 
state  of  his  adoption. 

Col.  H.  L.  Dousemann  came  to  Prairie  du  Chien 
in  1828  and  was  for  a  long  time  the  manager  of 
the  vast  trade  of  the  American  Fair  Co.  A  man 
of  great  energy  and  business  capacity.  He  was  a 
pioneer  in  opening  the  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Mc- 
Gregor railroad,  and  after  the  road  was  built,  he 
took  a  leading  interest  in  the  three  beautiful  steam- 
ers that  were  built  by  the  Minnesota  Packet  Co., 
for  this  trade,  the  "Itaska,,'  "Milwaukee"  and 
"Minnesota." 

Col.  \V.  S.  Hamilton,  son  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, came  to  the  Lead  Mines  in  1830  and  com- 
menced smelting  and  mining  at  Hamilton's  Dig- 
gings, now  called  Wyota.  He  was  a  genial,  whole- 
souled  man,  very  much  beloved  ;  becoming  some- 
what embarassed  in  his  mining  operations,  he 


295 

went  to  California  in  1857  and  died  there  many 
years  ago.  His  aged  mother  I  saw  in  Galena  in 
1845. 

Charles  Bracken  came  to  Shullsburg  in  1828. 
He  was  a  Government  Surveyor  and  became  in- 
terested in  mining.  He  organized  a  company  of 
Capitalists  and  bought  William  Hempstead's  in- 
terest in  the  Shullsburg  mines  for  $80,000,  but 
the  company  failed  after  the  first  payment  was 
made  and  the  mines  reverted  back  to  Mr  Hemp- 
stead. 

Jas.  H.  Lockwood  came  to  Prairie  du  Chien  in 
1819.  He  was  an  Indian  trader  for  many  years, 
and  was  County  Judge  in  1835.  He  owned  a 
steamboat  which  he  was  loading  at  the  wharf  in 
St.  Louis,  when  he  applied  to  me  to  take  a  pos- 
ition with  him  as  clerk.  I  had  just  returned  from 
a  visit  to  Philadelphia.  I  acted  in  this  capacity 
for  one  day,  receiving  the  cargo,  my  first  and  last 
experience  as  a  steamboat  clerk.  The  firm  of 
Petus  and  Morrison  sent  word  to  me  that  they 
wished  to  employ  me  and  I  turned  my  place  over 
to  a  friend  who  proved  to  be  a  successful  steam-* 
boat  man  in  after  years. 

John  P.  Sheldon,  a  Pioneer  of  1832,  was  Sup- 
erintendent of  the  Lead  Mines  in  Iowa  and  lived 
at  Peru,  a  little  hamlet  a  few  miles  North  of  Du- 
Buque  on  the  little  Maquoketa.  He  afterwards 
moved  to  Willow  Springs.  He  was  appointed 
Register  of  the  land  office  and  had  a  position  in 


296 

one  of  the  departments  at  Washington.  I  knew 
all  the  members  of  this  interesting  family  well. 
His  second  son  John,  clerked  for  me  a  few  years. 
The  mother,  an  estimable  lady  and  his  daughters, 
Mrs.  Chas.  Gratiot,  Mrs.  Judge  Drummond  and 
Mrs.  Nellie  Blakely,  I  knew  and  often  met. 

I.  S.  Daniels,  a  talented  young  man,  a  lecturer 
on  Geology  and  at  one  time  State  Geologist  I  think, 
I  have  often  met  at  Galena  and  elsewhere.  He 
was  in  command  of  a  regiment  who  went  through 
Northern  Missouri  in  1862,  breaking  up  the  roving 
bands  of  guerrillas  that  infested  that  section  of 
the  State. 

John  H.Rountreeof  Flattevilie,  settled  there  in 
1827.  He  was  a  Captain  in  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  County  Judge. 
A  man  of  wide  influence  in  his  section  of  the  State, 
and  was  interested  in  mining  and  smelting. 

James  Morrison  settled  in  'Wisconsin  in  1828. 
He  was  long  engaged  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  as 
a  fur  trader.  He  was  State  Treasurer  of  Wiscon- 
sin. He  came  into  Galena  at  one  time  soon  after 
the  election  of  General  Taylor.  He  had  bet  heav- 
ily on  the  vote  of  Louisiana,  which  was  carried  by 
the  Democrats  through  the  frauds  in  the  Plucki- 
min  district,  which  returned  over  the  number  of 
votes  there  were  in  the  district,  counting  men, 

women  and  children.     He  said  "d Plucki- 

min,  It  has  plucked  me." 

Ed.  D.  Holton  settled    in  Milwaukee  in  1840. 


297 

He  was  one  of  her  most  enterprising  citizens.  He 
took  a  leading  part  in  building  the  first  railroad 
going  out  from  Milwaukee  to  Waupon,  as  well  as 
other  roads.  A  delegation  of  Galenians  went  to 
Milwaukee  in  1857,  in  the  inter.est  of  the  road  to 
connect  Milwaukee  with  Galena.  He  invited  us 
to  take  a  trip  on  the  first  opening  of  the  road  to 
Waupon.  He  was  a  New  Hampshire  acquaint- 
ance of  my  wife,  and  whenever  he  came  to  Ga- 
lena he  was  our  guest. 

William  E.  Kramer  was  for  many  years  editor 
and  principal  manager  of  The  Wisconsin,  I  have 
often  met  him  and  used  occasionaly  to  correspond 
with  him  in  relation  to  our  railroad  connection 
with  Milwaukee,  He  was  very  deaf  and  used  an 
ear  trumpet.  I  last  met  him  in  1866  at  the  Lin- 
dell  house  in  St.  Louis.  He  was  the  first  one  to 
my  knowledge,  who  advocated  the  nomination  of 
Gen.  Grant  for  president.  He  kept  up  the  con- 
versation on  this  subject  until  midnight.  I  think 
he  is  still  living,  but  to  his  deafness  has  been  ad- 
ded the  further  calamity  of  almost  total  blind- 
ness. 

Ben  C.  Eastman  of  Platteville,  settled  there 
in  1840,  a  bright  talented  lawyer.  He  was  elect- 
ed a  Member  of  Congress  from  his  district  for  one 
term.  I  often  met  him  in  Galena. 

J.  Allen  Barber  settled  at  Lancaster  in  1836,  a 
lawyer  who  took  a  leading  part  in  the  affairs  of 
his  section  of  the  state.  He  was  elected  a  Mem- 
ber of  Congress, 


298 

Nelson  Dewey  settled  at  Cassville  in  1866.  He 
was  the  founder  of  that  now  ancient  dilapidated 
town  and  in  an  early  day  erected  a  large  fine 
hotel.  He  was  elected  the  first  Governor  of  the 
State. 

Moses  Meeker  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers 
of  Galena  came  there  in  1823  with  the  Harris 
family  and  with  the  Langworthy's  of  Dubuque, 
from  western  New  York.  He  settled  at  Meekers 
Grove,  a  few  miles  north  of  Galena  in  Wisconsin. 
He  was  engaged  in  mining  and  smelting.  All 
these  names  I  have  mentioned  and  many  others 
whose  name  I  have  not  mentioned,  whose  fami- 
iliar  faces  seemed  to  look  down  with  kindness 
upon  me,  are  nearly  all  dead.  Dead,  no!  there  is 
no  death!  They  still  live  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  survive  them,  and  in  that  better  and  brighter 
state  of  existance,  the  common  heritage  of  the 
race. 

Having  brought  my  reminiscences  of  the  past 
up  to  the  present  time,  the  first  of  April  1894,  I 
may  as  well  suspend  my  literary  labors  for  the 
present.  Bringing  back  to  my  mind  the  past  oc- 
currences of  vanished  years  has  helped  to  while 
away  time  during  the  last  five  months  which  I 
have  employed  in  jotting  down  my  recollections 
of  the  past  60  years  of  my  life.  This  work  has 
been  mostly  done  without  referring  to  any  other 
source,  except  my  memory  and  I  have  no  doubt 
made  some  mistakes  in  dates.  Some  of  the  facts 


299 

of  the  early  history  of  the  state  I  have  obtained 
from  Ford's  history  of  Illinois,  some  in  relation  to 
the  Island  from  Col.  Flagner's  history  of  the  same. 
I  cannot  close  the  imperfect  hastily  written 
sketch  of  past  events  better  than  in  the  words  of 
one  of  America's  greatest  poets,  J.  G.  Whittier, 
when  he  was  about  ready  for  his  departure  for  the 
other  side. 

When  on  my  day  of  life,  the  night  is  falling, 

And.  in  the  winds  from  unsaned  spaces  blown, 
I  hear  far  voices  out  of  darkness  calling 

My  feet  to  paths  unknown. 
Thou  who  hast  made  my  home  of  life  so  pleasant, 

Leave  not  it's  tenant  when  it's  walls  decay : 
0,  Love  Divine,  0,  Helper  ever  present, 

Be  Thou  ray  Strength  and  Stay. 
Be  near  me  when  all  else  is  from  me  drifting; 

Earth,  sky,  homes'  pictures,  days  of  shade  and 

shine, 
And  kindly  faces  to  my  own  uplifting 

The  love  which  answers  mine. 
I  have  but  Thee,  my  Father;  let  Thy  Spirit 

Be  with  me  then  to  comfort  and  uphold ; 
No  gate  of  pearl,  no  branch  of  palm  I  merit, 

Nor  shining  street  of  gold. 
Suffice  it,  if — my  good  and  ill  unreconed, 

And  both  forgiven  through  Thy  abounding 

grace, 
I  find  myself  by  hands  familiar,  beckoned 

Unto  my  fitting  place. 


300 

Some  humble  door  among  Thy  many  mansions ; 

Some  sheltering  shade  where  sin  and  striving 

cease, 
And  flows  forever,  heaven's  green  expansions, 

The  river  of  Thy  peace. 

There,  from  the  music  round  about  me  stealing, 
I  would  fain  learn  the  new,  holy  song, 

And  find  at  last  beneath  Thy  trees  oi  healing, 
The  life  for  which  I  long. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


60  YEARS  ON  THE  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI.  ROCK 


